Gundam Build Fighters: Cyber Era
by Saya no Kagami
Summary: The online virtual-reality of the Plavsky Network or P.L.A.N.E.T has changed the Gunpla battle scene, bringing with it new modes, challenges and of course, a host of new problems. A fateful encounter thrusts a new fighter into a secret which may change the course of Gunpla and Gunpla Battle forever.
1. Chapter 0 - Prologue

**(Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam franchise. Credits goes to Bandai/Sunrise and their staff for making this wonderful mecha franchise.)**

 **Gundam Build Fighters: Cyber Era**

 **Chapter 0 – Prologue**

* * *

" _After further studying and experimenting with the substance known as the Plavsky Particle, we at Nielsen labs have finally found a way to expand its application into the cyber world. For the first time ever, the doorstep to a highly interactive and augmented virtual reality is now brought right at your fingertips._

 _This is PLANET, the first ever physical-interaction cyberspace network which builds stronger connections with the use of Gunpla and technology. Experience the cyber world like never before through the use of our Avatar system._

 _At PLANET, we place your safety and privacy above all else. Take confidence that all our Monitored Areas are kept under strict supervision at all times, preventing any harm from befalling you as you explore. Our trusted Enforcers continuously patrol the perimeters of these areas to protect you from external threats as well._

 _Through your contributions, PLANET continues to expand and fill Neutral Zones with safe services and environments. To that extent, we thank you for your continued support for our system. Thank you, and please enjoy your time at PLANET."_

 _\- Nielsen Labs_

* * *

 _Holy Dragon Industries – Main Server_

"Level 4 Defense Network down! Unknown is now moving towards Level 5!" A female operator furiously shouts at a group of young programmers around the room. Each one moved vigorously, going through the motions on their interfaces trying to block the unknown from passing through.

"What's going on? Are we seriously being attacked from within PLANET?" Another spoke up, his hands swiping at a control unit and activating over ten simultaneous commands at a time. Just as all the systems lit up to indicate their activation, an explosion suddenly rocked the massive screen that shows the state of their server within PLANET.

"Interceptor units 5 through 10 have been shot down! Unknown still moving towards our mainframe!"

A massive Gunpla battle terrain had taken shape in the corridor of their fortress-like server. Field 1 Space has been deployed, revealing debris, warships and even colonies. Through it all, a shadowy Gundam moved expertly, avoiding any obstacle thrown in its course.

"Level 5 Defense Network setup! Boss!" One of the operators called over to a man standing right in the center of the room; sternly watching the scene in the screen.

"Do not let it past Level 5! Defend the mainframe at all costs!" The man issues stern instructions, his eyes not breaking away from the screen.

"Yes sir!"

"And Izun?" The man turns to a secretary who stood waiting by his side.

"He's already headed to the Battle Room. He should be making his way to the server soon." The secretary, a middle-aged formally dressed lady informed him.

"Tell him to forget Level 5 and head directly to the mainframe." The man commanded, surprising the secretary.

"Is it alright sir?"

"That unknown is good enough to tear down all four of our defense systems by itself. I want to prepare for the worst possible scenario." The man informed his secretary.

"Understood."

With that, the man nodded and continued to watch while his subordinates went on their frantic job of keeping the intruder at bay.

" _Are you here to steal 'that' away from us, Gundam?"_

* * *

Multiple Jegans armed with a variety of long-ranged weapons and intricate sensor equipment deployed to intercept the enemy moving about in the corridor. Noticing this, the unknown, a cloaked Gundam moving about, drew out its rifle, resembling the Type 71 wielded by the M1 Astray units, and exchanged fire with the interceptors. One by one, the Jegans fell to the unknown's shots as it took advantage of the field and holes within the enemy's formation.

The people controlling the intercepting Gunpla back at the Control Room were in a panic. A single Gunpla was breaching their intricate, automated defense network. Just as they thought all their interceptors would be wiped out however, the unknown's rifle stopped working. It has finally run out of rounds.

 _"Unknown out of ammo! Switching from Pattern Type D to E!"_ The operators changed the remaining Jegans' attack pattern at once. The Jegans discarded their heavy equipment and charged in close with their beam sabers in order to engage the unknown in close range combat. However, this soon proved to be their undoing. Undeterred, the unknown discarded the rifle and drew out a single, solid blade from its side skirt and intercepted the Jegans. However, it wasn't trying to destroy them.

 _"Unknown is brushing aside the interceptors! It's getting through!"_

 _"Level 5 Defense Network is failing-!"_

 _BOOM!_

A massive explosion now rang out as the unknown shoved two Jegans into what appeared to be a sealed entrance to a colony and blew them up, exposing a path to the interior.

 _"Level 5 Defense Network breached! Unknown is now moving towards the mainframe!"_

Having entered the mainframe, Field 1: Space vanished and was replaced by a black, cyberspace interface with the occasional blue lights surrounding the control units. In the center of it all, a massive tower sprang up, divided into various segments which almost resembled a gothic cathedral.

An array of Gunpla models stood idly by within these small windows, each sealed tightly with an invisible barrier as if kept in a static prison. And it wasn't just any straight out-of-the-box builds. Customized Gunpla the likes of which have been seen in use through prestigious battles like the 7th Gunpla World Tournament were also stored there. Build Strike, Wing Gundam Fenice, Tryon 3—the list went on and on. The unknown however, skipped past all these and descended further down. Down towards a closed gate marked only with the number "0".

 _"Is this it?"_ The unknown Gundam's controller murmured to themselves as they steered their Gunpla towards the gate's lock as if it was going to open it. Before it could reach out its hand though, it was immediately alerted by something and backed off, just in time to dodge a shot from a beam rifle aimed at its position. The unknown glanced up to look at its new pursuer.

The beam had come from a customized Sinanju; its glossy red armor repainted with a beautiful metallic black contrasting with its bright gold accents. Its backpack was replaced with an elaborate setup of parts and sub-arms, carrying a couple more armaments to increase its overall firepower. The rifle and shield it held in its hands though, were still the same.

"I do not know many who could breach all five defense networks so easily with such a lightly armed Gunpla. You must be an impressive fighter to be able to get this far." The voice of Sinanju's fighter echoed from the intimidating black machine as the Sinanju slowly descended until it was at the same depth as the unknown.

Sugiyama Izun had just entered the mainframe through the Gunpla Battle projector of the building's battle room, keeping both hands at the ready on his controller, ready to engage the unknown any time.

 _"And what brings a former prestigious fighter like yourself here I wonder?"_ Surprisingly, the unknown's controller replied though their voice sounded raspy and artificial; the unknown pointing its sword at the black Sinanju.

"Just a job." Izun promptly replied.

 _"A job?"_ The unknown's controller asked.

"I've been asked and paid to deal with pests and now I've got one in my sights! Prepare yourself!" Declaring that, Izun's black Sinanju activated the beam axes on its shields and charged the unknown. The unknown likewise struck back with its sword, parrying Sinanju's strike before disengaging and circling the tower.

"Where are you going-?!" The black Sinanju's thrusters flared as it gave chase, making a sharp turn behind the tower but just as it arrived, a volley of small-scale fire rained down from above, slightly grazing the Sinanju's armor.

The unknown had drawn a pistol from the holster on its skirt armor and intercepted its pursuer. It knew the pistols had very minimal effect on the monstrous machine however, it was enough to buy time while it placed distance between the two.

Sensing this is the case, the black Sinanju's sub-arms activated and grasped one of the bazookas it carried on its back, firing at the unknown above who cleverly maneuvered out of the way to dodge the incoming fire.

"I commend you on landing a hit however, such weapons have no effect on my machine's armor—" Izun spoke up as his Sinanju forged on, furiously following the unknown. Minor chips and scratches littered its body armor but otherwise, all the components appeared to be in good working order.

 _"Got you!"_ Suddenly, the unknown emerged behind the black Sinanju with both of its pistols aimed at the Sinanju's fuel tanks. Immediately, Izun ejected these before the shots could land and detonate the tanks, sparing his Gunpla extensive damage.

 _"Tch!"_ The unknown's fighter grit their teeth and tried to back away but now lighter, Sinanju was able to close the distance in a matter of seconds. The black Sinanju drew out its beam saber and went for a vertical strike. The unknown had to discard one of its pistols to draw its sword in order to intercept the beam saber. Despite the obvious difference in bulk, the unknown managed to push the black Sinanju back and immediately fired its remaining pistol at the Sinanju's waist energy pipes, badly damaging its waist and torso connection.

"You can have those parts-!" Having anticipated that move, Izun deliberately took the shots in order to get the opportunity to lock on the unknown with both of its bazookas. "You're mine!" The bazookas fired and while the unknown managed to intercept one of the rounds with its sword, the other shot connected and completely blew off the unknown's left arm.

 _"Damn it!"_ The unknown's controller cursed as the situation turned against them. The black Sinanju proved itself to be a very difficult opponent. Fortunately, it still had one more trick up its sleeve.

The black Sinanju activated its beam axes once again and charged straight at the unknown. The unknown immediately sheathed its sword and grabbed its pistol to intercept the charging behemoth while retreating; the fingers of its fighter immediately scrolling through its weapons panel towards a slot entitled 'System'. Its fighter pressed the command and at once, the cloaked Gundam suddenly started disappearing, turning more and more transparent until it completely faded out of the field; the black Sinanju cutting nothing but air around it.

From his spot in the Battle Room, Izun scanned the field with his Gunpla's sensors and cameras and came up with nothing. The unknown had completely vanished from the area.

"Damn, it got away." Izun sighed as he disengaged his Sinanju from the battle projector. The model still carried the scars from its encounter with bits and pieces of plastic missing and lying around on the panel it stood on.

 _"Unknown has completely vanished from the radar. Ceasing Plavsky Particle Projection. Server preparing to enter Vault Mode."_ A robotic woman's voice rang out from the intercom.

 _"Entering Vault Mode."_ An operator called to inform the remaining personnel of the main server locking itself.

"Well, that was a difficult battle." Izun muttered as he stretched his arms. Scratching his bald head, he turned to face the same man from the main Control Room entering the Battle Room. "Have you guys been making enemies lately?"

"That's what we're wondering ourselves." The man answered coolly as he stepped inside. He gave Izun's Sinanju a pitiful glance. "It is also possible that it was an agent sent by Yajima. However, we have been carrying our plans out in secret down to our distribution networks. It is highly unlikely that they would've caught wind of our operations already."

"I don't know. It could've been some nobody who just wants to make a quick buck like us."

"Then how would they find out about this? About our server and about Number 0?"

"I don't know." Izun just let out an exhausted sigh. "World's too connected nowadays. No secret will remain hidden forever. Not mine. Not yours." He turned to face the image of the cloaked Gunpla on the screen.

"And most certainly not theirs."

* * *

It had started raining outside and down the alley near the proximity of the Holy Dragon Industries building, a figure decked in a heavy, black poncho ran and ducked inside, taking shelter in the open manholes leading underground to the city's sewer system.

"Got past Level 5. Not bad." The hooded figure looked up at the dark and cloudy night sky as drops of rain continued to cascade down the streets. Fumbling in their pocket, they took out a beaten-up Gunpla and carefully checked it out.

"That Sinanju…if it weren't for him—" The figure's grip on their model tightened as they recalled the encounter within the mainframe. Frustration set in as they recalled how they had gotten so close. So close to the secret.

"Sorry. I need to leave you alone for a while. Wait just a bit longer." They murmured to themselves as they slowly sat down in the damp and cold sewers, as the rain continued cascading outside, dampening the overall mood of the entire city.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Yay! My first foray into Gundam fanfiction. I'll try to upload as soon as I can. I'm kind of throwing some elements from Digimon Cyber Sleuth into this, particularly the whole 'cyberworld' setting of that game even though I haven't exactly played it nor know too much about it.**

 **Anyway, it's still my usual style of opening with a combat sequence. Hope you enjoy the little mystery this opens up. Until then, see you next time!**


	2. Chapter 1 - Welcome to PLANET

**(Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam franchise. Credits goes to Bandai/Sunrise and their staff for making this wonderful mecha franchise.)**

 **Gundam Build Fighters – Cyber Era**

 **Chapter 1 – Welcome to PLANET**

* * *

 _The discovery of the Plavsky Particle fueled a second Gunpla boom all over the world as fans of the Gundam franchise was given the chance to test their own creations in a battle simulator known as Gunpla Battle._

 _Yajima Trading has since taken over the former PPSE in generating the particle and supervising the battle system due to the loss of PPSE's giant Arista. New rules and battle modes have been implemented, allowing Gunpla Battle's popularity to once again skyrocket._

 _Fast forward a few years later, Yajima Trading then expanded to the industry of cyberspace development, tapping into the properties of the Plavsky Particle in order to bring about a renaissance in the virtual realm through the introduction of PLANET, an interactive virtual reality designed to reinvent the concept of cyberspace through the use of interactive environments and systems._

 _Of course, as with every innovation comes difficulties and Yajima Trading, together with Nielsen Labs have strived to identify and address these concerns. Hacking, identity theft, viruses and cyber-bullying—the development of PLANET have in turn, aggravated these issues making the task of security ever more important than before._

 _After getting past the initial problems during launch, the measures adopted by Yajima seemed to have worked and PLANET soon started to stabilize, making it safer for everyone to come and go._

 _Two years after the launch of PLANET, the cyber era has now begun._

* * *

White. It was white as far as the eye could see. Of course, the eyes from which this scenery was being gazed at had just recently awakened from its sleep, making everything appear fuzzy yet bright. The beholder felt some sort of warmth around their left hand as a cool breeze swept upon them.

Slowly, the sounds of the clock started to become clearer and so did the fluorescent light overhead. It was time to wake up…

* * *

 _Sacred Heart Medical – Room 403_

"Hey, you're awake! Feeling better now? Your head doesn't hurt anymore?" A gentle mannered woman asked the young girl who had just gotten up. Brushing away the stray strands of brown hair that fell on her face, she darted her eyes around the white room. She appears to be in a hospital of some sorts. There was even a doctor standing by her bedside along with the woman whom she recognized as her mother.

"We were really worried…And to think I told your father not to put you in the back of the truck while you've got a fever! Honestly, that man never listens." The girl's mother sighed. Having heard that, the young girl finally recalled how she ended up there.

Her dad was hired by a bigger, better company in the city so they had to move all the way from the prefecture. They borrowed a friend's truck to haul all of their things over. However, she had gone down with a terrible fever the day before that and, coupled with the motion sickness she has when riding at the back of the truck with all their other things just proved to be too much for her to handle, causing her to pass out before arriving at their destination.

"It must've been a nasty experience. I'm so sorry. Are you okay now?" Her mother apologized while stroking her hair. She just nodded.

The doctor informed the mother of some paperwork she needed to fill up so she got up to leave the room for a while.

"I just have some stuff to sort out. You'll need to stay for a day longer. But, we're still just setting things up in our new apartment so even if you insisted on heading home today, you won't have anything to do yet. Plus, your dad will surely just make you help out with moving our stuff."

Upon hearing that, the girl just groaned and sank back to bed.

"Figured. So just stay put for now. I'll come again to bring you lunch later. You can explore the hospital in the meantime. Bye." With that, her mother bid her farewell and closed the door, leaving her alone in that white room. With nothing much to do, the girl just sank back in the covers and waited for sleep to take her once again.

* * *

 _Sacred Heart Medical - Lobby_

Come afternoon, the young girl felt good enough to stand and walk around so she took it as an opportunity to explore the hospital. Her doctor allowed her, provided she doesn't disturb the other rooms. It was the first place she was exposed to in that city so the idea of adventure thrilled her at first.

However, her excitement slowly waned upon seeing how modern and how well-lighted the hospital was. Compared to the one in her old home with its creaky elevator and hallway lights on the blink, it doesn't seem like there was anything interesting to uncover within the place. It was easy to access places, but there wasn't anything interesting in the said places. Sighing to herself, she decided to just head down to the lobby to grab a quick snack before going back to her room. She placed an order for a crepe on the stall before heading towards the waiting area.

There was a large LCD TV there, crowded by mostly younger patients watching what appeared to be a robot battle in some dense forest arena. She walked closer to see what the commotion was about and swore that if not for the announcer's voice, she would've mistaken what she saw for a CGI film.

On the screen, two Gunpla remained staring each other down on opposite ends of a bridge. On the left side was a blue GP02. On the right was a Gundam Ground Type fitted with a Beam Javelin. The GP02 steadily approached its opponent with its shield held up in front though the narrow bridge made it difficult for it to cross. The Ground Type didn't even bother to charge ahead. Instead, it kept its Javelin steady, thrusters ready to move the unit should things take a turn for the worst.

"Impressive Ground Type right there! I can't believe this is the same machine that shot down the BuCUE and Asshimar a while back!" One of the spectators commented.

"Can you believe it? They've been fighting for over ten minutes now." The young girl turned around and saw another young girl standing right beside her, sipping a cup of cold tea. While the girl didn't exactly look like a patient, the bandage she had on her cheek and wrists probably told a different story.

"Hey?" The other girl turned to ask her. "Who do you think would win?" She seemed to ask though with her limited knowledge on the two machines, she wasn't exactly sure how to answer this girl's question.

"The blue one, I guess?" She managed to reply though her answer seemed unsure judging from the tone of her voice.

"Must be the shield and specs huh? But I'm betting on the gray one myself." The other girl turned her direction back to the screen. "That Ground Type's got a plan. I just know it."

Back to the battle, the GP02 managed to close the distance enough to get the Ground Type in striking distance with its Beam Saber. However, just as the other girl predicted, the bridge the GP02 was attempting to cross suddenly collapsed as a result of being blown by explosives from below, sending the hulking Mobile Suit crashing into the river below, dropping both its shield and weapon as it struggled to get up. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Ground Type jumped down at great speed, impaling its immobile opponent with the point of its Beam javelin. The battle was over.

"Heh~ I win." The other girl managed a small smile, looking rather amused with her prediction.

"I guess." The young girl just gave her a nod and an awkward smile.

"You're a patient at this hospital right? Are you lost? Is it okay for you to be up and about right now?"

The young girl just shook her head.

"I see. You just came down here to watch the battle then." The other girl concluded even before the young girl could clarify things. "Well, good for you. I myself don't know too many other girls interested in Gunpla Battle. At least, not anyone with your kind of demeanor."

She tugged at the other girl's sleeve to catch her attention just as the other girl started walking away.

"Huh? What is it? You want to know my name?" The other girl just gave her a neutral look though she can tell from the girl's red eyes that she didn't seem too amiable to the idea. "Doesn't matter since we probably won't see each other again. Besides, even you are just a stranger to me."

Realizing that, the young girl cleared her throat with a small cough before facing the other girl eye-to-eye.

"Then—my name's Aya. Saihara Aya." She introduces herself.

"Saihara huh? Hehe…interesting name." With that in mind, the other girl just turned to leave. Aya was about to call out to her again but she merely responded with—

"Nagisa. My name's Nagisa."

"Nagisa huh?" Aya repeated the other girl's name as she watched her walked down the aisle with her black twintails billowing like dark wings down the white halls.

"Hey miss? Your chocolate crepe is ready." An elderly shopkeeper called out to her, reminding her of her order. A breaking news report flashed on TV, interrupting the Gunpla battle screening just as Aya picks up her food.

" _Yesterday at around 7 in the evening, Holy Dragon Industries security was breached by an unidentified intruder using what appeared to be a customized Gundam plastic model—"_

"Crazy world huh? Quite creative using Gunpla like that. Not exactly moral though." The shopkeeper murmured to himself as he wiped the chocolate syrup off his hands.

"Gunpla?" Aya asked.

"You don't know? It's what you call those." The man pointed back at the TV which was now showing the next round of Gunpla battle. This time, it was a high speed battle between the Gundam F91 and the V2. Aya tilted her head, indicating that she didn't quite understand.

"It's uh…well, it's basically a toy robot you build and assemble yourself. Some kids also customize theirs with weapons and whatnot to participate in 'Gunpla Battle'; basically a virtual coliseum where you fight with your machines. Others just build it well and display it as works of art." The man paused a bit to make sure Aya was still following with his explanation. "-and I suppose you can also use it to infiltrate the network and go to places you aren't allowed to go to—damn, and I thought PLANET was already safe. Better make sure my server security is still tight."

* * *

 _Castle City - Highway  
_

Aya was discharged from the hospital the following morning, just a little before lunch. Riding around the cab they took, Aya finally saw her new home up close for the first time since she arrived in that dark and cramped truck.

The city was huge, obviously but it looked very, very modern. Solar panels glistened above rooftops while the streets were very clean and adorned with potted plants of all shapes and sizes. There were a lot of skyscrapers and smaller buildings at the same time, with most of them being shops or entertainment hubs.

"Exciting isn't? Seriously, Holy Dragon's offer couldn't have come at a better time." Her father explained while she kept herself busy by looking outside or browsing on her tablet, looking up various things to know about her new environment.

"What are you reading there?" Her mother glanced down to look at the page Aya was browsing.

It was the home site of the school she was going to attend once classes start: Suzuran High School.

"Hoho, you excited?" Her mother asked, smiling mischievously at her daughter. Aya just shook her head.

"Well, I know that feeling. You still have a few days of vacation remaining. Aside from helping us move in, anything interesting you want to do to kill time?" Her father asked just as the cab made a turn to head towards the bridge.

"Hey, new start! Why don't you take up a new hobby? Hmm…how about, ballet?" Her mother suggested though Aya vehemently dismissed the idea. Two years ago, she failed a class dance performance and her old friends dubbed her "The Worst Dancer of the Year".

"Why don't you pick up scale models again? You used to do that with your cousin, right?" Her father suggested, pointing at a banner informing passerby of an upcoming Gundam Expo lining the bridge. "Look, those scale robots look cool. Why don't you try it?"

"But it's a boy's hobby! What if other people make fun of her?" Her mother protests.

"Eh, what's the difference between building those robots and building tiny planes and ships? Besides, I beg to differ. Boys are into girls who are into boy's hobbies nowadays." Her father counters back.

"What are you—hey, how can you be sure about that?"

"I don't know…times change. It's their generation and it seems to be the popular thing in the city—I mean, look around you! Gundam wasn't this big back then! Now, it's even featured on fashion magazines!"

As her parents had their small argument, Aya plugs in her earphones and stared out the taxi window just as they passed a giant LCD showcasing an advertisement for the upcoming Gunpla Expo, highlighting the history of Gunpla and how it has changed throughout the years in terms of engineering and color separation and other stuff. Seeing it, Aya just smiled.

Maybe it would be a worthwhile hobby to take up.

* * *

 _Arakaki Apartment Complex -_ _Entrance_

" _You've got to be kidding me—!"_ Aya thought as she stared up at her new home.

When her parents told her they'll be moving in at an apartment owned by her aunt, she expected a simple, flat-roofed, three-story building. Maybe four or five at most. She wasn't expecting a twenty-story building that was practically a skyscraper.

"Like our new home? You should see what it looks like inside." Her mother took her hand and led her up the steps and into the lobby.

Upon arriving at the clean and spacious lobby, a casually dressed young man greeted them from the desk.

"Good afternoon. We were expecting you earlier." The young man turns to ask Aya's parents.

"Well, we left the hospital a little late. Still, you've grown a lot Yoite-kun!" Aya's mother addresses the young man. Turning to Aya, she introduces the two. "Aya, you remember Yoite-kun, your cousin."

"Haven't seen you since you were seven! How are you doing?" Yoite extends his hand in greeting.

"Twelve." Aya corrected him.

"Still isn't much of a talker I see." Yoite laughed. "Are you still building scale models?"

"Not for a while. Last I finished was an M4 Sherman last Christmas. And probably that Nendoroid sushi house for Sara last fall." Aya recalled the last time she built a plastic model kit. "You?"

"Haha, well I'm into Gunpla nowadays. Helps to get ahead in PLANET aside from entering it in contests or exhibits."

"We heard that as well. What is this PLANET thing?" Aya's father asks the strapping city boy. Yoite just gave Aya a sly smile.

"You'll see~"

* * *

 _Arakaki Apartment Complex – Room 1203_

The Arakaki apartment complex had some very cozy units that were partially furnished. Each unit was spacious, allowing residents to bring in more shelves and furniture should they desire. The wide windows also provide an adequate source of natural light and a nice view of the modern city below, marked by the glitter of a thousand solar panels dotting the cityscape.

Aya couldn't help but stare in amazement.

"These are all standard in every room. Of course, rooms near the far right and left have bigger windows. Let's have lunch first in my unit. I'll help you get settled in afterwards." Yoite offered.

Lunch was spent talking, catching up and getting up to speed with things in the city. He also explained how the PLANET, short for Plavsky Network, have changed the cyberspace and Gunpla Battle scene through its interactive VR environment.

"With Yajima's new VR tech, it is now possible to browse the net as a 3D environment. Hah! Bet you didn't have that back in your old place don't you Aya?" Yoite laughed.

"Well doesn't that sound amazing?" Aya's mother echoes the statement.

"Yeah. I'll show you how it works later, once I can get Aya's Plavsky VR system up." Yoite offered.

* * *

Aya was given her own room in the house. The Western style bedroom felt different from her old sliding door and futon setup in her old home but she did appreciate the fact that it came with a big window and a bed. On the edge of the room opposite the bed, her computer was already set up though Aya watched Yoite attach what appeared to be VR goggles and some gloves to it. On the compartment, right next to the AVR, was a big, spacious box glowing with an eerie blue light within its mechanisms.

"And…that's it!" Yoite exclaimed as he finishes attaching everything and running the update on his cousin's computer. "You're all set up to use PLANET."

Aya tilted her head quizzically at Yoite so he immediately explained how it works.

"You can still browse the old way if you want. However, if you open up that icon there—" Yoite points at an icon resembling a globe on Aya's desktop. "—you can use the VR and browse in a kind of 3D environment. Remember those old sci-fi shows we used to watch? Where the futuristic character is surrounded by these floating windows and prompts? Well, it feels like that. Why don't you try it?"

Nodding, Aya stepped up to her computer to try it out like her cousin suggested. Putting on the goggles and gloves, Aya takes her first step into PLANET.

* * *

 _Saihara Family Home Server_

It was like a dream when she entered.

When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see herself floating within a hologram hub, with various search engines and toolbars floating around her. The environment was pretty scarce as of now as her hub looked plain since she hadn't personalized it to her own tastes yet.

Nonetheless, it all felt surreal and exciting.

" _Enjoying yourself?"_ She heard Yoite's voice. It seems she can still hear things outside the hub so it wasn't as if she'll be completely immersed and unresponsive inside.

Aya nodded her head.

" _Great! Oh, try browsing! We've got good internet speeds here, even when we have lots of residents using the network at the same time!"_ Yoite assured her and should she have been able to see his face, Aya was sure he would've winked at her. Immediately, she got to browsing the usual sites she visited.

"This is great!" Aya laughed as she floated around inside that hub. Though she wasn't a big gamer or anything, she wondered how playing video games have been changed by this new technology.

" _Like it now? This is just your home server. Lots of fun things wait when you enter the network."_ Yoite informed her.

"Can I head there now?" She asked.

" _Not yet. Since the network is sponsored by Yajima, you'll need a Gunpla to use as an 'avatar' or sorts. Do you have one?"_

Aya shook her head.

" _Is that so? Well, I guess I can just lend you one but—that won't be fun now wouldn't it?"_

"I guess."

" _Hehe, alright. Then let's build you one for yourself. Log out of there for a while and join me in the real world, haha!"_

Hearing that, Aya closed all of her opened tabs and logged off, removing her goggles and following her cousin out to his unit, which was just opposite theirs. They passed by Aya's parents in the living room.

"Where are you going now?" Her father asked.

"Well, we're still exploring PLANET. But Aya will need a Gunpla if she wants to proceed further. I'm just going back to my room to see if I still have something unbuilt in my backlog." Yoite explained.

"I see. Well Aya, was it great?"

"It was." Aya replied.

"Why don't you tell them about it Aya? I'll just go out for a bit to get you one. I'll also lend you some tools while we're at it."

* * *

 _Aya's Room_

When they returned to Aya's room later, Yoite had setup a cutting mat and an array of building tools on her study table. Aya felt a little nervous and excited at the same time.

"The first Gunpla you'll build—is this!" Yoite hands her the relatively small box of the SD EX-Standard RX-78-2. Aya giggled upon seeing the Gunpla's large head and small body.

"Yeah, laugh at it now while you haven't tried facing a Godmaru in Gunpla Battle. Besides, as it stands, only SDs are allowed in the monitored network. It's to prevent people intimidating other people I guess?"

Aya nodded and opened the box. She checked all the runners first, making sure every part was accounted for. Yoite noticed this, recalling that Aya did have some prior experience building scale models before. Nonetheless, she did say she hadn't built one for quite some time so she may need a little refresher.

"Assembling Gunpla is pretty much the same as the old models we used to build—maybe even easier since everything's snap-fit and stickers are provided to fill in missing color apps. Let's try building it according to the basics first since you'll only be using it to browse anyway." Yoite explained. Aya nodded and started working.

True to Yoite's words, snapping parts together was quite easy. "You're right." She muttered as she moved on to the next part having finished the shoulders in almost no time. Through it all, her older cousin watched and gave his advice whenever it was needed.

"You'll want to leave a bit of the gate to sand down later so you don't accidentally gouge out a piece of the plastic."

"The sticker looks a little crooked. Adjust it a little and press down on it with a Q-tip so it sticks better."

"Oh! Be careful when snapping the halves together. Make sure to not miss the polycaps."

As she felt a little rusty, the build took almost an hour and Aya was able to build a standard, snap-built model kit. Seeing her finish up, Yoite borrowed it and checked it out.

"This is good enough for a snap-built kit. Hmm…yeah, nubs are barely visible and stickers are correctly applied…yep! I think you're ready to take this up a notch." Yoite pats her on the head for a job well done. "This SD can look a whole lot better with some panel-lines and a matte spray. Here let me—"

It was almost dinner time by the time the two finished up with Aya's first kit. Once the matte spray was dry enough to allow Aya to pick up her own kit without leaving fingerprints all over it, she immediately showed it to her parents with an enthusiastic smile.

"Oh…Not bad I guess." Her father nodded at her build, sipping a cup of coffee while he sat on the sofa.

"I don't know why you said you were feeling rather rusty but, this looks really nice!" Her mother likewise, complimented her build though Aya already wanted to build another one to the best of her abilities.

"So, now that you have your SD, why don't we resume exploring?" Yoite leads her back to her desktop. "You can now place your Gunpla inside this 'Scanner Box' and the machine will now register this as your avatar. Of course, you can always change it if you want." He pointed at the weird box he attached. Aya nodded and placed her Gunpla in the box. Once it was in place, a light blue laser passed through her machine once and for a moment, she thought she saw her model's eyes blink? She wasn't too sure.

"Alright. I'll head back to my room. You just enter the way you did earlier and go to the second globe icon within that holo-hub. That should take you over to the network. When you get there, just stay put. I'll meet with you in a second."

Once Yoite left the room, Aya re-donned her goggles and went back to browsing. She located the icon Yoite was talking about from the home server and pressed it. A prompt showed up, showing her the following:

 _OPERATOR_

 _Builder Name: Aya Saihara_

 _User Name: Aya Saihara_

 _GUNPLA_

 _Scale: -_

 _Class: SD_

 _Model: RX-78-2_

 _Name: Gundam_

It appeared to be her Gunpla's specs and the machine was asking her if she wanted to proceed with it. As she didn't really have any other option, she clicked on yes and she was then engulfed in a spectacle of light and color.

She was back in PLANET.

* * *

 _PLANET – Central Hub_

When she opened her eyes, she was now standing in an impressive cyber-themed city complete with skyscrapers and highways. Around her, various other SDs moved about, walking, gliding, flying towards their intended destinations. There were even conveyors, assistant robots and cute airships transporting the SDs around the Central Hub.

Aya thought it was awesome. Around her waist level, she noticed a holographic controller with two orbs. She moved it around and in an instant, her Gunpla projected in that city moved as well. With a newfound excitement, Aya nearly forgot their agreement and started to walk around, giggling and amused at how her Gunpla walked around with its big head and tiny limbs.

She turned down an aisle and nearly collided with two SD Zakus who didn't even say sorry nor look in her direction. Smirking to herself from the other side, she cycled through the options and cycled to the slot labeled "Beam Rifle". At once, her SD Gundam looked to its beam rifle and she aimed it at the two. Just as she pressed down to fire, she noticed that the rifle refused to obey her command.

"Forgot to tell you, weapons don't work in monitored areas." Hearing the familiar voice of her cousin, Aya spun her SD Gundam and saw a similar looking SD albeit clad in firm samurai armor. Unlike hers though, this SD didn't seem to have used stickers and all its color apps have been applied with paint. All-in-all, it looked better than hers. And better armed too.

"Hey, Aya. This is my PLANET avatar, SD Musha!" Yoite's SD Musha spun around, showing off the work he has put in on his model. Aya pouted. If she had the time and resources, she would've made a model just as good as that one.

"See how the weapons panel is all greyed out? That's how you know you're in a safe spot. It's one of the security features of PLANET. It prevents other people from wrecking your unit if you know, you accidentally bumped into someone and forgot to say sorry."

Aya immediately inspected all the panels. "You're right." She muttered upon confirming it.

"Well, now that we're here in the Central Hub, let me show you a couple of places you might be visiting often. Come on, follow me—oh, you can use your machine's thrusters or flight packs though if you want. Makes it easier to move around." With that said, SD Musha took off, followed by Aya's SD Gundam.

* * *

 _PLANET - Suzuran High School Main Server_

Their first stop was a relatively huge building with what appears to be a giant airship docked on top. It was also barricaded by gates though there was a bulletin board outside that a bunch of SDs were crowding into.

"This is Suzuran High's main server. From what I heard, you'll be attending this school once the term starts. Don't worry. I'm sure you'll make friends easy." Yoite shows her the school's main server to calm her fears down. "Anyway, gates are closed since there are no classes but once school starts, it'll open up. You can check schedules, clubs and download modules inside."

"What's the airship for?" Aya's SD Gundam asked, also letting Aya hear her voice being projected through the toy's medium for the first time.

"It's just a decoration. You can personalize your home servers you know? Both on how it looks like inside and how others would see it from the outside." Yoite explained.

"Can I shoot it?" Aya enthusiastically asked.

"No! Of course not. Anyway, moving on—" Yoite protests and practically drags Aya's SD to their next stop.

* * *

 _Emerald Gardens Main Server_

Their next stop was a relatively tall and colorful building adorned with balloons and several assistant robots driving around, escorting other SDs around the place. Its bulletin was also bigger and larger than the one at Suzuran's. On the far side of the building was a cylindrical teleporter.

"This is Emerald Gardens; the biggest shopping center in Castle City, right at the center of Queen's Avenue. There's a lot of stuff you can do here. Shop online, book movie tickets—there are even hobby stores where you can buy Gundam models and tools." Yoite explained.

"What's that?" Aya asked, pointing at the teleporter.

"Well, department stores carry brand items so if you want to visit a certain manufacturer's server or something, you can go there and it will automatically take you to that manufacturer's server. Even if it's on another country."

"Wow!" Aya exclaimed.

"Yeah, wow. Moving on-!"

* * *

 _Gundam Battle Center Main Server_

"Gunpla Battle!" Aya practically yelled out upon seeing the dome shaped building adorned with the statue of the full-sized RX-78-2 grappling with Char's Zaku. Lots of banners adorned the path leading to the entrance and inside, there was a crowd cheering for an ongoing battle though they couldn't exactly see it from outside.

"Yeah. The actual physical Battle Center is around a twenty-minute drive from the house. Inside, it's just like a theater where you can watch the battle proceedings. It's practically a live stream." Yoite explained.

"Can I watch?" Aya asked but Yoite's SD shook its big head.

"Later Aya. We still have a bunch of things to see."

* * *

 _Central Hub – Main Plaza_

Their next destination wasn't so much a personal server as opposed to a wide, open space with a lot of benches, assistant robots and tables and chairs where SDs gathered and talked to each other.

"This is the Main Plaza. Think of it as a social media outlet I guess. People share stuff and talk about stuff here." Yoite explained though he could see that Aya's SD was too busy looking at the other tall buildings in the vicinity. "Right well, I suppose you're not that interested in places like these, let's move on."

* * *

 _Central Hub – Edge_

Like the plaza, their next destination is not a server but a huge gate that leads to a road connecting to a spiraling portal. Various construction items like small barricades and tools have been placed around it and two SD Knight Gundams stood guard near the portal.

"This is—?" Aya wondered as she maneuvered her SD and started poking around the place.

"It's the edge of town. And that portal leads out into the Neutral Zones." Yoite explained with a much more serious expression.

"Neutral Zones?" Aya asked, her SD tilting its big head.

"Well, PLANET is still expanding so there's still lots of blank areas. These are Neutral Zones. They are, empty spaces so to speak. The Central Hub and all other networks are trying to expand to fill these gaps but, it's still too big." Yoite's SD stepped in front of the portal. "You do not want to go in there Aya. A lot of bullies and hackers supposedly hang around the Neutral Zones. Yajima has placed certain traps like paths that lead into Gunpla Battle Fields but, these guys are creative. Monitored Areas have bans on weapons and grades above SD but in there, you might encounter an HG—or maybe even an MG!"

Aya flinched and stepped back. "So there's nothing good there?"

"Well—" Yoite's SD scratched its big head. "Supposedly if you can travel through the vast expanse then you may be able to get to another hub. Hubs that you can only visit if you're in the place that uses it. For example, people in Osaka have their own hub, but you can't access it since we're using the Central Hub. However, if you travel through this zone then you can get to the Osaka hub without having to physically be in Osaka. Makes sense? Well, it really just changes the scenery but the services stay the same either way. And it's only just a rumor."

Aya's SD nodded and turns to the two SD Knight Gundams.

"Those are AI Enforcer units. They guard these portals so that no one steps out of line." Yoite explained.

"Can I shoot them?" Aya suddenly asks.

"No! They keep us safe, why would you even think of doing that?"

"Freedom of expression!"

"No! Unlike your SD, their SDs can use weapons in Monitored Areas so you'll probably lose. Plus, you should also stop pointing your rifle around things even as a joke! An actual Enforcer can come around and ban you from entering PLANET forever! Do you want that to happen?!"

Aya nodded, feeling down at her cousin's sudden outburst at her little joke. Sensing this, Yoite's SD pats Aya's SD on the shoulder.

"Sorry. It's your first time here so I can understand you're excited. However, rules are a lot stricter now. You don't want to get into unnecessary trouble that people will hate you for."

Hearing her cousin's attempt to cheer her up, Aya raises her SD's head and nodded.

"Alright, good! No more weapon pointing okay?"

Aya's SD nodded again. "What are Enforcers anyway?" Aya suddenly asked, now that Yoite has mentioned it a couple of times.

"Practically a security group that apprehends intruders, hackers or troublemakers. You don't want to get on their bad side. They use some pretty souped-up gear. And they're very good! As Gunpla fighters, their skill may be even good enough to win the Championships!"

Again Aya nodded. "Okay! I won't cause trouble!"

"Good!" Yoite commended her. "And because you've come to that realization, I have something special to show you."

* * *

 _Sky Stairway_

Yoite's SD took Aya to an airship ride to the tallest building in the Central Hub. The rooftop looked like a massive observation deck, with a handful of SDs littered about, taking in the view or looking for a specific place.

"Wow!" Aya gasped in delight upon seeing the entire hub look small from her view.

"Like it? You can almost see the whole city from Sky Stairway. Well, it's basically the airport's home server but, I guess they want to attract more visitors." Yoite's SD walks over to a pair of binoculars on the side. "Here, why don't you try?"

As per Yoite's suggestion, Aya looked through the binoculars, allowing her to see the other home servers up close. As she tried locating hers though, a peculiar server caught her eye and she immediately zoned in on that to get a better look.

It was a tall, dark building with dragon statues decorating the entrance. Certain raised details along the walls also bore dragons on them and the rooftop itself was also guarded by four stone dragons. One would've immediately assumed the place was Chinese because of all the dragons but the dragons were all the four-legged, two-winged designs populating the Western world as opposed to the slender, snake-like dragons of the East.

The building itself was unified in a stonewashed color scheme and massive steel gates adorned with spikes barricaded it from the outside. There were no assistant robots or anything around it. Just a tiny bulletin board outside but no SDs actually seem to go near it.

Wondering about it, Aya shows it to her cousins through the binoculars.

"Oh that? It's the home server of Holy Dragon Industries. To be honest, I'm not sure what they do there. With all the dragons around, I almost thought they were a Chinese restaurant but no. I heard they mostly deal with cars and automobile shipment but eh…it's all business anyway. Would be hard for us to understand." Yoite explained though Aya couldn't help but to wonder what was inside so she asked Yoite some more.

"Well…I peeked at their bulletin board once. It was just shipment schedules and the like. Tracking, I guess. Anyway, it's a private server so no one really comes around. It's not as if people avoid them since they take little, rifle-pointing SDs and lock them up and chop them up inside or anything~" Yoite teases Aya who just pouted.

"Haha, just kidding!" Yoite assured her.

* * *

The two SDs continued about their tour until it was almost midnight. The sky in the Central Hub also reflected the sky in the real world so it was already dark by the time they decided to stop their little adventure within PLANET.

"Well, I suppose that's enough fun for now. We should log off and head to sleep. There's still tomorrow if you want to explore some more. Oh, and just a reminder. Always log off your SD. I mean, you're not a fighter so I guess it doesn't matter but it's still a safety precaution. Otherwise, your SD avatar would still be here, even if you take out your model from the box."

Aya nodded upon hearing that.

"If your avatar data is left here, then even if you scan the actual model to dive from another place, you will still wake up here. For Gunpla fighters, that means you can't use your Gunpla in the Battle Center for instance." Yoite elaborated. "Well, just a reminder. But you should make it a habit. Aya, I'm going now. See you tomorrow!"

And with that, Yoite's SD vanished. Left to her own devices, Aya steered her new SD around the area for a couple more hours before logging out and turning in for the night. There was more to explore tomorrow and she couldn't wait for the next day to come.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Chapter 1 complete! It's mostly exposition stuff and a look into the kind of setting I have in mind. Forgot to mention in the overview that as for the timeline of this fic...I'm putting it around fifteen years after Build Fighters Try though most model kit references would probably only reflect Gunplas known to date. Can't read that far out after all.**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I'll see you next time~**


	3. Chapter 2 - Trouble in Toy's Town!

**(Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam franchise. Credits goes to Bandai/Sunrise and their staff for making this wonderful mecha franchise.)**

 **Gundam Build Fighters – Cyber Era**

 **Chapter 2 – Trouble in Toy's Town!**

* * *

 _Aya's Room_

"Aya! Hey, Aya!"

Tossing and turning, Aya groggily opened her eyes to Yoite's smiling face waiting for her outside the covers. The time at her bedside alarm clock read 7:30 AM. Two hours earlier than her usual wake-up call. Aya groans in protest.

"Oh, come on sleepyhead! Don't you want to stretch your legs and explore the city? If you just waste time on the bed all day, you'll end up fat as a turkey stuffed for Christmas!" Yoite teases her as he tried pulling back the covers Aya had cocooned herself in.

"Urgh…I don't want to get up…" Aya groaned. Excited as she was about the new environment, she didn't want to trade her usual waking time for it.

"Come on! Your mom already made you breakfast before she left. So hurry downstairs so we can go—!" Yoite manages to get the comforter off his sleepy cousin, folding it and tucking it neatly back on the side table. "It's a little cold outside so don't forget your jacket. See you downstairs!"

With the covers off her, Aya got up and checked her face on the mirror. Her eyes still looked sleepy and her hair was a mess. Sighing, she simply forgot about her comforter—

—and crawled back to her bed to sleep.

* * *

 _Castle City – Rook's Boulevard_

In preparation for the upcoming Gundam Expo, downtown Rook's Boulevard had been decked up with Mobile Suit Gundam themed decoration and merchandise. Custom builds were in display inside the glass cases of most shops while others had various Gundam anime series playing on the televisions and monitors they had for public viewing. Aya looked around the shops every time Yoite would spend time in one, often looking at the custom builds that were on display.

"And that's the last of it—!" Yoite marks down the last item on a shopping list he carried. He noticed Aya immersed on the other store, watching _The 08_ _th_ _MS Team_ playing on the monitor. "Hey Aya! Aya!" Yoite ran up to her and tapped her on the shoulder to catch her attention.

"There are a lot of shops here…" Aya muttered as she noticed the abundance of stores they passed. Every street probably has at least five as they walked.

"Well…this is pretty much the secondhand _mecca_ here at Castle City." Yoite explained. "If the things you need do not need to be brand new anyway, you can always get them at a discount here. Of course, these are all authentic."

Aya hummed to herself as she heard that. She wondered if she could find some secondhand games around the place to buy. Suddenly, she recalled that Yoite had already gotten the last item on his shopping list and wondered why they weren't heading home yet.

"Hmm? Well, I gave you my last SD so I figured I should buy some more. And maybe a couple more paints and primers while I'm at it." Yoite informed her.

"Aren't they expensive though?" Aya asked, wondering just how well-off this relative of hers is.

"Actually, I have a shop I usually go to for this kind of stuff. They always have some in stock and sell it at lower prices than say, Takahashi Models at Emerald Gardens." Yoite explained as he turned towards an older looking building with a gym on the second floor. "Ah, we're here! Come on!"

* * *

 _Castle City – Toy's Town_

"Uhh…" Aya wondered just what kind of shop Yoite had led her up into. The yellow tarpaulin that hung beside the doorway was adorned with clipart presents, balloons and teddy bears with the words "Toy's Town" printed in rainbow Comic Sans font.

"Hehehe, I know right? But it's a legitimate hobby store as you'll see inside~" Despite Aya's misgivings, she followed her cousin inside—past aisles of toys like balls, board games and train sets. Behind that though, lay shelves and shelves of Gundam model kits, arranged neatly according to grade or box size. Aya immediately walked up to one and picked a random kit off the shelf.

"The store's a little small isn't it?" Yoite glances around, looking for somebody as there was currently no one manning the register. "But I always get my supplies here. Plus, the owner's daughter was the one who got me into the hobby so she's kind of like my _senpai_ when it comes to Gundam—even if she's younger than me."

"Younger?" Just as Aya asked, the door to the backroom opened and a peculiar, messy haired blonde wearing goggles stepped out, her apron covered in paint and dust. Giving her a closer look, Aya noticed that the girl seemed to be around her age too—maybe a little older. Just a little though.

"Well, well, if it isn't my favorite scrub! How ya' doin you little sausage!" The odd girl immediately greeted Yoite by running up to him and giving him several slaps on the shoulder.

"I'm doing fine Kanade! Were you working on something?" Yoite asked, trying to shield his shoulders from further damage by placing his hands up.

"Yeah! Damn vacuum cleaner broke down so I salvaged some parts off our hair dryer to fix it up!" The girl named Kanade flashes them a mischievous smile and a peace sign. She noticed Aya looking at her from behind Yoite. "Umm…my eyes are up here you depressing sack of potatoes."

Hearing that, Aya stepped forward to face the odd girl. Apparently, her name was Kanade.

"So…who's this new broad you've brought in with ya'? You're not cheating on Arai are you?" Kanade asks after giving Aya a thorough look from head to toe, grinning all the while.

"Of course not!" Yoite immediately clarifies. "Kanade, this is Saihara Aya, my cousin from Osaka. Aya, this is Takamine Kanade—"

"Soon-to-be-the-next-Meijin-in-the-world! Nice to meet you Scrub No.2!" Kanade puffs out her chest as she completed her own introduction looking rather proud of herself.

Aya just nodded. While she can tell Kanade was just trying to be friendly, her speech and language was a little—

"Aya had just recently tried Gunpla herself." Yoite interrupts. "She built an SD RX-78-2 yesterday and it was quite good." Yoite informs Kanade.

"SD huh? SD's are for total noobs though. A baby can snap an SD in an hour." Kanade nonchalantly muttered within everyone's earshot.

"She's just starting out Kanade—cut her some slack." Yoite explained as he turned to his cousin.

"Well, I had built other scale models too. Just not Gunpla." Aya clarified.

"Heh! When you see what I can do with my hands, you'll be crying out my name for the next couple of years!" Kanade boasted again. "That said, why don't we have a battle right here and now?" Kanade suddenly challenges Aya to Gunpla Battle, determination burning in her eyes. "How about it, huh?"

"I don't have anything with me though."

"Yeah. Plus, she just started out!" Yoite informs her.

"Tch! I guess it can't be helped." Kanade then turns her attention to Yoite. "You'll fight me in her stead then."

"That's not really what I came here for but—okay! I brought my Gunpla along so you're on!"

"Cool!"

"If I win, I get my supplies for free!"

"And if I win, you'll have to buy twice the amount you're originally getting!"

With that said, Kanade leads the two into the backroom of the store. It was still morning and there were hardly any customers yet anyway.

* * *

Aside from a couple more extra stocks, the backroom had a large hexagonal board that acted like a battle projector. Aya watched Kanade set the machine up while Yoite explained to her specifics about Gunpla Battle.

"Aside from building it, playing Gunpla Battle is another way of enjoying Gunpla. It's pretty much a coliseum where you use your machine to fight another. Straightforward isn't it? You can experience the thrill of actually controlling your machine in a fight." Yoite explained.

"Another thing!" Kanade piped in. "Your Gunpla's strength is also determined by six factors: Adhesion Intensity, Joint Motion, Paint Work, Special Processing, Reflected World, and Total Intensity. Blah! Basically how well you built your Gunpla will determine how good it is. Something a beginner would have a hard time in ahahaha!"

"Even a model that's just been painted tend to do better than a stock model built out of the box, even if you just retained the original color scheme. Of course, you can always compensate for the machine's performance with good control skills but—"

"Such cases are obviously rare duh!" Kanade finally finishes up. "So are you ready scrub?"

"Heh, ready when you are!"

 _Gunpla Battle, Combat Mode, Startup!_

In an instant, the machine started generating blue particles around the hexagonal perimeter. Aya noticed it was the same particles surrounding her holo-hub when she first entered PLANET. The control system with the two orbs was the same one she used to control her Gunpla when she connected to the server too.

 _Model Damage Level, set to C!_

"You build great painted kits so I don't want to damage your model. Let's use C for now." Kanade explained.

 _Please, set your GP Base!_

Yoite holds up a rectangular gadget that looks like a sloped smartphone of sorts. "This is the GP Base. Think of it as an ID for your Gunpla. It holds the Fighter and Builder identification. Your Gunpla's specs are coded into it as well. You can't fight in a Gunpla Battle without a GP Base. Remember that." Yoite explained then places his GP Base on the console, registering his current machine's specs.

 _Field 05: City_

The blue particles then transformed and generated what appears to be a hologram image of a traditional city with tall skyscrapers and tight streets. Aya recognized this city from the various shows playing in the monitors outside. It was probably a nod to a scene in a Gundam series.

 _Please set your Gunpla!_

From a small plastic toolbox he brought, Yoite took out his Gunpla and placed it on the console, allowing the machine to scan and read it.

 _OPERATOR_

 _Builder Name: Yoite Arakaki_

 _Fighter Name: Yoite Arakaki_

 _GUNPLA_

 _Scale: 1/144_

 _Class: HG_

 _Model: MBF-M1 (G)_

 _Name: Astray Green Plus_

Yoite was using an HG M1 Astray with all the orange parts painted green. Some decals have been applied for added detail and there were panel lines added that were not present in the original model reflected in the box. All its armaments are standard fare which consists of a beam rifle, two beam sabers and a shield.

"As per usual, not much modifications—well then, check this out!" Kanade confidently placed her own machine on the console, allowing it to be scanned and registered as well.

 _OPERATOR_

 _Builder Name: Kanade Takamine_

 _User Name: Kanade Takamine_

 _GUNPLA_

 _Scale: 1/144_

 _Class: HG_

 _Model: AMX – 011 (KC)_

 _Name: Zaku III Panzer_

On the other hand, Kanade used an HGUC Zaku III painted in its original almost monochrome color scheme though lots of dust and rust effects were present on its armor and weapons. It sported a different backpack equipped with massive verniers and a giant smoothbore cannon tucked underneath its right arm. It almost looked like a different machine entirely as opposed to a simple repaint of the Zaku III.

 _Battle Start!_

"I'll get ya' you scrub!" With a fierce howl, Kanade deployed, her machine's weight as it dived down sending slight shockwaves across the ground.

"Astray launch!" Yoite takes off as well and his Gunpla immediately ducks for cover in one of the nearby skyscrapers. From the movements of his Astray, he seemed to be avoiding a direct confrontation and instead, was focusing on outmaneuvering his bulkier opponent in time for him to use his weapons.

"Not going to let you gain any leverage my good scrub—!" With a quick rotation, Kanade selected her custom smoothbore cannon and aimed it at the massive skyscrapers. The Zaku III fired powerful rounds though its weight countered the recoil, sending massive debris raining down around the battlefield below. Nonetheless, Yoite's machine nimbly tiptoed around the ruins with swift motions and control.

"Got you!" Yoite's Astray reached an intersection where it can open fire on Kanade's Zaku and immediately fired three shots with its beam rifle. Sensing this, Kanade's machine turned and avoided two of the shots and took the third head on with its shoulder armor.

"There you are!" Having located her nimble opponent, the thrusters on Kanade's Zaku flared up and she started charging at Yoite's Astray at full speed, ditching the heavy smoothbore and drawing out its beam saber. Likewise, Yoite's Astray swaps out its rifle with its own beam saber and charges back with the shield up front, blocking Kanade's attack. Kanade immediately disengages and goes for another slash which was immediately parried by Yoite.

"Nice Zaku III. However, I have the upper hand in melee combat!" Yoite boasted as his machine successfully catches Kanade's beam saber with his shield and knocks it out of the Zaku III's hands. With his Astray's right arm, Yoite went for one final slash aimed right at the Zaku III's torso to cleave it in half.

"I—don't think so!" With a laugh, Kanade immediately activated both the Zaku III's sub-arms. One caught the arm of Yoite's Astray and the other drew its own beam saber and drove it straight into the Astray's cockpit.

The battle was over in a flash.

* * *

"Yay! How about that you fuckin' scrub?!" Kanade immediately went on with her tirades as Yoite picks up his Gunpla while laughing sheepishly. Fortunately, the damage level was set to C so the damage his model received didn't reflect on the actual model outside of the field.

"Well that was an embarrassing performance. Maybe I shouldn't have brought Aya to watch." He laughed again while tucking his model back in the box. "Guess I have to buy more huh?"

"I guess you shouldn't have! Hahaha!." Kanade informs him while she stood with her arms on her hips, looking rather proud of herself. Aya clapped her hands for a quick yet enjoyable battle. Kanade's Zaku was quite strong and so was her cousin's Astray. Again she wondered if she would eventually be good enough to build a unique machine of her own—and if she would be good enough to use it in a battle.

The three returned to the store proper where a handful of customers were now browsing through the aisles. Yoite purchased a few bottles of paint and three SD models as part of the deal. While Kanade ringed up the purchases, Aya looked around the store some more, wondering what model would make a good starting kit. Her eyes zoned in on a Master Grade Sinanju and she took its box off the shelf to check out the promotional pictures on the side.

"If you didn't know already, all those gold parts come as either stickers or waterslides so you'll either have to use them or paint them yourself." A voice suddenly spoke up, prompting Aya to turn around and face a familiar, black-haired, twin-tailed lady smiling beside her.

"Nagisa?" Aya recognized her as the girl from the hospital.

"And I just said we probably won't see each other again." Nagisa's eyes trailed to the box Aya had in her hands. "Are you going to buy that?"

"Not really. I'm just looking around."

"I see. Hey, have you tried building Gunpla before Aya?"

"One. Those cute, tiny ones with the big heads. But I have built model vehicles and houses before I moved here."

"I see." Nagisa closed her eyes for a minute and browsed the aisle with her. "Then I guess you can probably paint the trims yourself. But if you want to be spared the hassle, you can always opt for the Real Grade where the gold actually comes as separate parts. It's a lot less sturdy though."

Looking up, Aya had already leaned in close to listen in to what she just said.

"You know a lot." Aya complimented her.

"Of course." Nagisa answered. "I've been in this hobby for a while."

"Hey, Aya? I'm done here so let's go. We'll have a quick lunch before we head home." Yoite suddenly called her over, having made his way to the entrance already.

"If you're not that confident in tackling that model yet then just say the word and I'll help you out. Catch you later~" Again, Nagisa stood up and disappeared into the next aisle so Aya just placed the box back on the shelf and ran out to catch up with Yoite.

" _Help me out huh?"_ Aya thought as she walked around with Yoite. _"I'm not that much of a newbie…am I?"_

* * *

 _Central Hub – Main Plaza_

Upon arriving back at the apartment, Aya had already gone to her room to log in to PLANET, continuing her SD adventures. Her mother asked her to check out Suzuran's server to see their schedules and rules so she headed there first. When the errand was done, she hung around the plaza for a while just watching and observing the other SDs move around, particularly three SDs on her right side, who had been chatting loudly among themselves for the past few minutes. Aya steers her SD to move closer, ducking behind a light post to listen in.

"Hey, hey! Do you think they have a battle system here in the Hub?" An SD Guncannon asked.

"I heard there's a small one in the Toy's Town server. Maybe we can try there?" An SD Super Gundam suggested.

"But this server doesn't allow HGs and above. All they allow in are SDs and that stupid Pettit'-guy series!" SD God Gundam complained. "It's too boring."

"You're just mad that God Gundam is useless in SD form hahaha!" SD Guncannon teases SD God Gundam.

"Of course not!" SD God Gundam immediately protests.

"Hahaha! Chicken! We can just shoot you down!" SD Super Gundam adds in to the insults.

"How about I cut you down with my beam saber instead!"

"Still—fighting with SDs is a little boring. Want to try heading outside to the Neutral Zones?" SD Super Gundam suggested.

"No. My friend Taro said a lot of bad folk lurk around outside. Some even use Master Grades there!" SD Guncannon retorted.

"The Enforcer A.I.'s there too. There's no way they'll just let us pass." SD Super Gundam chimes in.

"Hah! See who's chicken now?" It was SD God Gundam's turn to insult SD Guncannon this time.

"Urgh…shut up! Let's just head to Toy's Town! I want to see my Guncannon in action already!"

The three SDs then went on their way and Aya's SD Gundam stepped out from behind the light pole. The prospect of being able to play Gunpla Battle even here seemed thrilling so she immediately followed the three at a reasonable pace.

* * *

 _Toy's Town Main Server_

Toy's Town's server was a neat and clean park-like center with a hexagonal square in the center meant to simulate the device Aya saw in the actual Toy's Town shop. When she arrived there, a battle was already underway with SD Super Gundam engaging in combat with an SD Delta Plus.

"Get them Tobi!" SD Guncannon cheered.

"Watch out for its missiles!" SD God Gundam warned.

"Shame that only SDs are allowed inside. Would've been cool if they would allow HGs and RGs in the servers as well." One of the SDs in the crowd murmured as they watched the two duke it out.

"Isn't that a good thing though? Otherwise, we'll have all these 'Gunpla Fighters' crowding the servers and causing it to lag with their constant battling. This Gunpla thing had already expanded too much as it is!" Another answered back, a little dismayed that even the first VR network was attributed to Gunpla.

 _Crack! Cackle!_

Aya overhears a mild crackling sound coming from somewhere so her SD's head turned around frantically to look for it, noticing a crack-like distortion appearing in the clear skies above.

"Hmm? Oi! You kids better not be overusing my system! I'll have you pay for that if it breaks!" An SD custom-colored Guntank reprimands the fighting SDs. Aya giggled. She could tell the voice was Kanade's upon hearing it.

 _Crack! Cackle! Crack!_

The noise intensified and this time, almost everyone heard it and started looking up, including SD Delta Plus and SD Super Gundam who momentarily stopped fighting. The crack in the artificial sky was getting bigger, leaving everyone visiting the shop's server perplexed.

"What's going on?"

"Is it time for my server's regular maintenance?"

 _CRASH!_

The damaged portion of the artificial sky suddenly fragmented like glass and behind it, the crowd saw a dark, hollow space with thousands of Plavsky Particles drifting about. That wasn't the most shocking part though.

A tall, cloaked Gundam descended, landing softly on the hexagonal block, harboring what appears to be damage from a previous fight. The crowd was visibly shocked.

"Huh? A Gundam?"

"I thought HGs weren't allowed in the system!"

"See that crack? He probably let himself in from somewhere!"

"Hacker!"

The crowd started throwing insults at the intruder which confused Aya. Despite being taller and more normal-proportioned, wasn't it just another avatar as well? Talk about robo-racist. Nonetheless, the intruding Gundam didn't seem fazed by the insults.

" _Toy's Town? Guess my luck's even better than I thought."_ The intruding HG spoke in an almost mechanical tone yet the way it spoke seemed a little too natural to be a robot. It was pretty obvious that whoever's controlling the machine on the other side was using a voice changer of sorts.

"Hey!" SD Guncannon called out to the intruder. "How did you get in with an HG? That's not allowed!"

"Yeah!" SD God Gundam pipes in. "If you're allowed in, then we should be too!"

"Get him!" SD Super Gundam urged and all three SDs charged at once. Aya found it strange considering weapons do not work in the Central Hub but the three seems to have forgotten about that. Or they wanted to pin the guy down with their SD's bare hands and feet. It was three against one—they may just have a good chance.

" _Sorry but I don't have time for this."_ In a quick motion, the cloaked Gundam did a quick sweep and kicked SD God Gundam off its feet, sending it crashing into the wall.

"WAAAHHH!" SD God Gundam crashed with a loud yell. SD Super Gundam and SD Guncannon leapt at the cloaked Gundam at the same time but to their surprise, the cloaked Gundam took out a pistol and shot the two SDs in the forehead, effectively destroying the two.

"It can use weapons?"

"Run!"

"Get me security here!"

All the other SDs scrambled away from the scene upon seeing the cloaked Gundam use its weapons. Kanade's SD Guntank immediately drove over to a red button on the server and pressed it, sending alarms echoing everywhere. Sensing this, the cloaked Gundam decided it was time to disappear. But—

" _Mirage Colloid's out of energy? Tch!"_ Dismayed, the cloaked Gundam leapt away from the server and ducked down in the alleyway, leaving Aya to wonder what had just transpired and how that cloaked Gundam managed to do what it just did to kids who were probably just fooling around. Her head full of questions, she soon found herself giving chase to the intruder, following along using her SD's tiny thrusters though it was difficult to keep up.

The cloaked Gundam wasn't moving too fast considering that it seems to have been damaged when it first arrived. It turned all the way to head down the edge of town, towards the portal where two Enforcer A.I.'s lay waiting.

"INTRUDER ALERT! ENGAGING DEFENSE SYSTEMS NOW!" The two SD Knight Gundams assumed a defensive stance, blocking the path to the portal. Before the two parties could exchange fire though, an odd contraption on the cloaked Gundam's back opened up, emitting an odd wave of light that shot out to the two SDs though it didn't seem like it was an attack considering that the two SDs remained unscathed.

"INTRUDER VANISHED FROM RADAR. RESUMING USUAL PATROL SCHEDULES."

" _D-did that just happen?"_ Aya paused as the cloaked Gundam headed inside the portal, completely ignored by the two guard units stationed outside. _"This guy must be quite a hacker to be able to bypass security features like that…"_

Realizing this, Aya felt a strange chill run over her. The guy was clearly dangerous and a nagging feeling was already warning her to back off. However, she was also curious at the same time. Eventually, she caved in and followed the cloaked Gundam to the Neutral Zones. Surprisingly, her Gunpla was ignored by the two SDs too, possibly as a result of the light waves emitted by the Gunpla earlier. A couple of warning signs flared warning her about something but Aya ignored it for now and pushed onwards.

* * *

 _PLANET - Neutral Zone_

In contrast to the vibrant life in the Central Hub, the Neutral Zone was quite a depressing sight. It was only composed of long digital roads enveloped in total darkness with only a couple of process windows dotting the landscape. It was incomplete, in every sense of the word. Walking around in her little SD made Aya feel a little lonely even.

" _It's almost like a graveyard…"_ Just as Aya thought that, her SD's feet stepped on a system trap and she was immediately teleported to a huge desert field, engulfed in a slight sandstorm. It appeared to be a Gunpla Battle field: Field 04 Desert.

" _Must be a trap to keep troublemakers away…"_ Aya thought as she got her SD up from the sand.

" _You—"_ Turning around, Aya saw the cloaked Gundam from earlier standing just behind her, its eyes full of malice with its hand clutching a pistol. As Aya drew back, she noticed one of the Gundam's arms was broken off—possibly in the encounter it had before it arrived at the hub. But that wasn't the only discovery.

Looking down on her controller, she noticed that her weapons panels are no longer greyed out. She can fight back if needed. The cloaked Gundam aimed its pistol at Aya's SD and instinct soon took over.

" _Then—!"_ Gripping her controls, Aya charged her SD at full speed, ramming the cloaked Gundam, sending the two models crashing down on the soft sand. Immediately, Aya drew back and selected her beam rifle, firing a volley of shots at the cloaked Gundam though it merely blocked the beams with its cloak.

" _You little—!"_ The cloaked Gundam cursed as it immediately got up and leapt up high, drawing out its sword and aiming straight at the SD's chest as it dived down. Immediately, Aya moved out of the way but the cloaked Gundam was fast and with a quick kick from its leg, disarms Aya's SD of its rifle.

"Not yet—!" Aya howled as she selected her next weapon; the beam saber. She charged directly at the cloaked machine and the two soon engaged in a heated melee clash consisting of vertical and horizontal strikes and parries until the two swords locked with each other in an attempt to break through.

" _Impressive. However—!"_ As the two blades tried to push each other back, warning signals flared around Aya's little holo-hub. The difference in strength and output between the two models was too great and the cloaked Gundam was overpowering her model with minimal effort, despite Aya putting all her strength in pushing her enemy back. With a sharp swing of the blade however, the cloaked Gundam easily sends Aya's SD flying.

"Come on—!" Aya attempted to re-orient her SD as it stands but the cloaked Gundam leapt up and dived down at the SD with its sword drawn, burying the blade deeply into the smaller Gundam's abdomen and severing it at the waist, effectively ending the battle as the image immediately cut off from Aya's field of vision as a new window popped up on her screen.

 _Could not detect Gunpla. Disconnecting from PLANET._

Unsure of what it means, Aya took off the devices and ejected her SD from the scanner only to be met with a depressing sight.

* * *

 _Aya's Room_

The damage incurred by her SD in the Neutral Zone was carried over to the actual model with various bumps and chips in the armor. Worse was that her own model really was severed from the waist. It wasn't merely popped off from the connection peg—the peg and the polycap itself was badly scarred and cut off from the model itself. Seeing it, Aya almost wanted to cry. It was just a straight built with a few extra touches but to see something she built herself be destroyed quickly was a pretty painful feeling.

"Hey, Aya! I got a box of rolls for snacks and they're really goo—whoah! What happened? Did you drop it or something?" Yoite had gone up to her room carrying some snacks for them and was shocked at the sight of Aya's mangled SD.

"Well—" Aya explains the run-in she had with the cloaked Gundam at Toy's Town's server. And it was a rather long tale.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Chapter 2 is up! I think it's a pretty straightforward chapter if not a bit shorter. Also...a hobby shop called Toy's Town. Yeah...I may have been feeling sleepy when I came up with the name. Well, name aside, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you all in the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 3 - Taking Off!

**(Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam franchise. Credits goes to Bandai/Sunrise and their staff for making this wonderful mecha franchise.)**

 **Gundam Build Fighters – Cyber Era**

 **Chapter 3 – Taking Off!**

* * *

 _Aya's Room_

"I see." Yoite hummed as Aya finishes her tale. "He must've been a very good hacker though, to be able to inflict damage to you within the Central Hub while you aren't able to retaliate."

Aya nodded. She deliberately left out the part where she followed the cloaked machine to the Neutral Zones to avoid another scolding though.

"Hmm…the Enforcers should be looking into it by now so just stay put. Here, let me take the Gunpla. I can probably fix it up over the weekend." Yoite offered. Aya graciously accepted and handed him the wrecked SD Gundam.

"In the meantime…" Having thought of something, Yoite vanished from the room for a bit, only to return a few minutes later with a bunch of unbuilt SD Gundams he showed to Aya. "It's the excess I bought from Kanade. Here, why don't you pick one for your next avatar? You already know how to build so I guess it's time for you to choose one you'll want to personalize yourself."

Aya gave the kits a cursory look, trying to pick out a favorite from among them. She even checked out the promotional images on the sides of the box and the runners. Finally, she was able to decide which one she wanted to use.

"This!" Aya picks out an HG Petit'gguy White from the stash.

"Hahaha! Yeah, okay. It's technically an HG but it's still allowed by the system since they're small." Yoite informed her as he got up to leave.

"Yoite?" Aya suddenly called out, surprising Yoite.

"Yes?"

"Can I borrow some tools and paint too?"

"Absolutely." Yoite pats her on the head and heads out to get the supplies and to bring back the tools Aya borrowed. "Do you want me to help out?" He asked though having watched his battle with Kanade and suffered a loss of her own, he could already guess Aya's answer.

"No. I want to build it by myself this time." Aya assured him. If she was to get back at the Gundam that defeated her, she would have to take it down with her own power. Right now, the only thought in her mind is to face that unknown Gunpla again—

And defeat it with her own hands with a model she built herself.

* * *

 _Room 1203_

It was evening by the time Aya walked down to the living room to watch some TV. The remainder of the day was spent brushing up on her old modeling skills on the Petit'gguy Yoite gave her. Removing seamlines, opting for paint over stickers, adding in her personal color choices—basically everything she can do to make her current machine stronger than the last one—

Which she still found difficult as the SD Gundam at least had its rifle and saber. Her new 'avatar' lacked what you could call a proper weapon. Clearly, it was meant to look cute rather than intimidating and useful for battle. However, Aya didn't mind this. After all, this was only a trial kit. She didn't exactly intend to use it for battle anyway.

"Heehee~" Still, Aya giggled. Compared to the SD, her current machine just felt a little more complete. Perhaps it was her personal touches such as changing the color of its ribbon to blue and putting more attention to details like nubs and seamlines which drew out that feeling. A little bit of shading also added a new dimension to its look.

Plus, it was cute. Seeing it standing proudly in its completed glory made Aya smile.

"Hey, how was your day?" Her mother greeted her as she came home from work and practically squealed upon seeing Aya's new Gunpla. "It's cute Aya! Did Yoite give it to you too?"

Aya nodded. Her mother inspected the machine from head to toe. "Hmm…I guess your old skills have returned. It looks cuter, but this one feels just a bit sturdier than your last one. Speaking of which, where is it Aya? Let's take a picture of it together with this guy! Your first Gunpla models!"

Aya flinched a bit. She didn't want to admit she broke the first one by picking a fight with some stranger on PLANET.

"Umm…Yoite borrowed it for a while. He said he wanted to—to…ah! He wanted to draw it!" Aya explained with a suspicious smile.

"Is that so? Well okay then. I'll just fix us some dinner."

Aya breathed a sigh of relief when her mother headed to the kitchen. Fortunately, her mother was quick to buy her story.

"Oh, Aya look!" Her mother suddenly called her to the kitchen. "Do you have your Gunpla with you?"

Aya nodded. She was still carrying Petit'gguy in her pocket.

"Can I have it for a bit?" Her mother asked so Aya lent it to her for a while. When her mother gave it back, she appears to have fashioned a tiny blue scarf for it out of some old cloth she apparently found in the kitchen. "There! Now doesn't it just look cuter?"

Aya smiled and nodded. Now her Gunpla feels just a bit more special.

"Why don't you show it to Yoite-kun? I'm sure he'll be impressed now that you're able to build Gunpla by yourself."

"About that—" Aya sits down at a chair in the kitchen to talk to her mother. "Is it okay if I keep doing this hobby?" She asks.

"Of course dear! I for one would prefer it rather than you just sitting in the PC or the TV all day!"

"It might get a little too expensive though."

"I'm alright as long as your grades are fine and you don't splurge your allowance in one go." Her mom assures her.

"Thanks. I was actually thinking of getting a set for my own. It feels a little embarrassing for Yoite considering he gave me two already." Aya recounted. "I saw a battle earlier today and it looked fun."

"Battle? You mean that coliseum where you try to beat other people's robots? Won't your robot be damaged there?"

"They have an option so the model doesn't get damaged. I can stick to practicing in that battle mode while I'm still learning." She assures her mother this time.

"Well, okay. I'll leave you some money for you to buy a model. Will it cost a lot?"

"Hopefully not-I mean, I don't really intend to get the big ones." Aya recalls the size of the Gunpla she fought in the Neutral Zone. She was going to use the same scale as that one.

"Okay."

"Can I also practice Gunpla Battle at the store? They have a system there."

"Just make sure to not stay out too long and to eat on time okay?"

"Got it!"

* * *

 _Castle City – Toy's Town_

"So, you're finally upgrading huh?" Yoite asked as he stood beside Aya in front of Kanade's Toy's Town. It was still rather early and the shop was still devoid of customers. From the windows, they could see the girl dusting off the stocks and counters. Aya just nodded as they entered.

"Hey! Scrub No.1 and Scrub No.2! Don't tell me you want to avenge your loss yesterday, Arakaki?" Kanade greets them as they walked in; Aya immediately taking off for the Gunpla aisles.

"Nah, not really. I'm just tagging along this time. She's the one who wanted to come in today." Yoite refers to Aya who had already started checking box after box, trying to find a Gunpla she wanted.

Her initial plan was simple: Buy a Gunpla, build it and slap as many powerful weapons on it and locate the machine that destroyed her SD and beat it. However, now she didn't seem too sure. Some of the Gunpla seemed to have special abilities and other gimmicks like transformation. From what she was reading, it seems there's more to these robots than just weapons.

"NT-D?" Aya muttered as she checked out an HGUC Unicorn Gundam's box.

"Newtype Destroyer System. It's a mode that unleashes the limiters of the Mobile Suit giving it increased performance." Yoite walks over, explaining the lore of the system. Aya realized that with her rather low knowledge of the series, it would be hard for her to decide on a particular design direction.

"You sure are taking your sweet time there. What's the matter? Need cash? You can ask some from this scrub here!" Noticing her confused look, Kanade walks on over to their side as well.

"I don't know?" Aya muttered. "Now that I'm actually choosing one for myself did I just realize there's so many designs and variations to choose from."

"Well, it's already got over forty years of history behind it. When you consider that, it doesn't really seem too surprising to me." Kanade explained. As they stood around, waiting for Aya to make a decision, the bell chimed and another customer walked in.

"Huh? Fancy seeing you here Arakaki-san." The other customer greeted Yoite.

"Morning Nagisa-chan! You're here early." Likewise, Yoite greeted back.

"Nagisa?" Aya turned to look and true enough, Nagisa was standing by the aisle.

"Seriously? You're here too Aya?" Likewise, Nagisa also seemed surprised at the meeting. "This is what, the second time I've run into you now?"

"Third. At the hospital too." Aya reminded her.

"I see you two have already met." Yoite remarked upon seeing the two girls.

"You know her Arakaki-san?" Nagisa asked.

"Well yeah. Aya here's my cousin from Osaka." Yoite explained.

"I see."

"And Nagisa here is Makinami Nagisa; my underclassman from Suzuran." Yoite introduces Nagisa to Aya this time.

"Not to mention my rival for the title of the fourth Meijin!" Kanade adds in. "And my cousin. Family sticks together around here." Apparently, the three people around her knew each other. Suddenly, Aya felt a little out of place around them which her cousin immediately picks up.

"Hey, don't worry! They're all my friends."

"Yeah, it's not like we bite or something. Unless you're into that of course, hehehe~"

"Shut up Kanade."

"Speaking of which—" Yoite suddenly remembered and turns to the two girls. "Kanade and Nagisa, do you think you can help Aya out here? She wants to try building her own customized Gunpla but—"

"Basically—I have no idea where to start." Aya finishes her cousin's sentence. "I'm not really uhh…familiar with all this."

"Oh? Watching us fight got you hooked huh?" Kanade remarks as a wide grin formed on her face. "Very well! I'm always happy to take another student under my wing!"

"You say that but even you still have a lot to learn yourself Kanade. Like being a bit more humble." Nagisa sighed at the rowdy girl's cockiness.

"It's alright. Even I only learned to build from Kanade-chan here." Yoite added. "They'll be able to teach you better than I can. Right girls? Plus, I'm sure you'll feel better learning from other girls your age. You're all second-year girls right now yeah?"

"Yep!" Kanade beamed.

"Well, I guess I have some free time—" Nagisa steps up to browse the aisle with the beginner. "Let's see…do you have a particular Gundam you want to base your idea on?"

"Huh?" Aya asked, not sure what she meant.

"You know? A base Gunpla?"

"Aya's not that familiar with the Gundam franchise Nagisa so—" Yoite speaks up on her behalf.

"Is that so?"

Aya thought for a moment. "Umm…is there anything you might recommend to someone like me?"

"I don't know. Recommending things isn't as easy as it looks. If you're just starting out then the only thing I can recommend is to pick some of the newer models so you won't have to kill yourself improving its articulations and stability." Nagisa muttered as she went through the other boxes. "Are you just going to build it and stand it on a shelf? Or do you plan on battling with it?"

"She's going to battle of course! After seeing my battle skills, how can she not be inspired to fight? Besides, who still displays Gunpla in this day and age?" Kanade speaks up for her this time. Aya actually appreciated the gesture as that saves the trouble of admitting she only wanted to get back at someone.

"Well, lots of people Kanade. That's why we have the Artistic Gunpla Grand Prix and the Meijin Cup." Nagisa replied, putting an HGUC ZII back in the shelf and turning to Aya. "If you're going to fight then what's your style?"

"Style?"

"Melee or ranged?" Kanade translates.

"I don't know." Aya replied. She recalls being able to use both options in her earlier battle but the fight was over before she can properly assess herself.

"Do you prefer to focus on only one enemy at a time? Or can you engage multiple opponents at the same time?"

"I don't know."

"Are you comfortable with taking attacks head on? Or would you rather get out of the way and dodge?"

"I don't know." At this point, Aya just sighed as the reality of it all sank in. She wasn't really sure of her own abilities so she couldn't exactly expect to jump ahead to attempt a fully customized machine. She'll have to take it slow in the meantime, and find out where her talents lie.

"Boy, you really are a noob huh?" Kanade sighed as she stretched her arms.

"Yeah, I just admitted that."

"Well, no need to be so defensive about it. We all started somewhere too." Nagisa pats her on the shoulder, as if to assure her it's alright. "For now, why don't you pick out something that looks "cool" to you. Then we work our way from there."

"Or how about we put her in a general-purpose machine first and test her, see where her skills lie, get her a model that compliments her skill and work our way from there?" Kanade suggests a different method.

"Then she'll be buying at least two machines at the end of the day! You're just trying to make profit aren't you?" Nagisa argues.

"What? It's a win-win! I have more profit, she has more options!"

"You fox and your sleazy sales pitch—!"

"At least I can make a profit!"

"Girls, don't fight…" Yoite tries to calm the two down. "How about it Aya?"

Aya pondered over their suggestions a bit. On one hand, Nagisa's idea is very considerate as it takes into account her own preference. However, with almost no knowledge of the franchise, Aya was worried she might pick a model that suits her taste only for her to realize it was a weak machine all along. Kanade's suggestion on the other hand, makes more logical sense aside from the fact that well—it costs a lot more to try out.

"Decisions, decisions…" Aya hummed to herself as she browsed some more. "A general-purpose machine is-?"

"A pretty balanced one, with options for both melee and ranged. The SD Gundam you just built was something similar." Yoite explained for her. "Most units have options for both though so that line is pretty blurred nowadays."

"So something like this?" Aya raises an HGUC Geara Zulu to Yoite.

"Yep. It has a beam axe for close range and a beam submachine gun for ranged."

"It doesn't look too strong though."

"Any Gunpla can be strong Aya. It depends on how well you build it."

"And if you have good battling skills and reflexes." Nagisa added. "Gunpla Battle plays differently than the Gundam anime. What was strong in the shows may just as well be floating targets if you can't use it properly."

"Nagisa's right. So don't worry too much about strong and weak Gunpla for now. Gunpla becomes more powerful the more you add to it."

"Well…take care not to go overboard though as it might just end up messy—like the builds of someone I know." Nagisa points towards Kanade.

"Hey! You making fun of my customs?"

"No."

"Anything can be strong huh?" Aya took Nagisa and Yoite's words to heart as she cycled through the stock again. Finally, a particular unit caught her eye and she reached out to pick it up from the shelf. "This one looks like my SD!"

Nagisa leaned in to get a closer look. It was the HGUC Gundam Ground Type.

"The Gundam Ground Type huh? Not a bad choice I might say. It can't fly though and it's much better off fighting on Earth than in space."

"However, you can of course, customize it to also fight in the air and in space if you want to." Yoite reminded her. "That's the whole point of customizing Gunpla."

"Hmm…Aya gave the Gunpla a closer look, checking out its armaments and features. "Okay, I think I'll take this one."

"Go ahead."

Having decided on the Ground Type, Aya takes it to Kanade on the counter.

"The Gundam Ground Type huh? Didn't seem like you're the type who likes antiques Scrub No.2! You really surprised me!"

Aya wasn't sure if what Kanade said was a compliment or an insult but she nonetheless, ringed up her purchase.

"Thank you for your purchase! Now, follow me to the back!"

"Huh? Why?" Aya was surprised at Kanade's remark.

"Why, we'll build your model of course! You said you wanted to learn right?"

"But I already know how to build it."

"Yeah, but you're also going to check how well you fight and which style suits you best right? Plus, with custom builds, you often have to use other materials aside from what you just got from the box." Kanade explained.

"Kanade's right." Nagisa echoes the rowdy girl's words. "You'll be using polystyrene sheets, putty and maybe even parts from other Gunpla. Custom builds tends to be involve grittier processes outside of painting it nice."

"But for now, let's just finish this model OOB quickly so you can test it out. You'll have a better idea of your Gunpla's range if you built it yourself."

"But who's going to watch the shop then?" Aya reminded them.

"Oh, I'm sure Scrub No.1 is up to the task."

"What? Why me?" Yoite protests.

"Cause' we'll be helping Aya out of course! Now come on!" At Kanade's insistence, the three girls headed inside the backroom where Kanade's workshop and the battle system was.

"Seriously? Hey, Kanade-chan! I don't know how to use the cash register! Help!"

* * *

With both Nagisa and Kanade helping out with the build, the model was completed in a little less than an hour, surprising Aya as she worked. Of course, they only built the machine according to the manual though Kanade left out most of the stickers save for the eyes. The result was…not that bad but of course, without panel lines or other details, it looked pretty bland.

Still, Aya was impressed with how fast it took them to finish up.

"Wow! You girls barely looked at the manual too." She complimented both of their abilities.

"Well, when you've been doing this for quite a while, you'll start to see similarities in construction and joint placement across kits." Nagisa informs Aya. "Take the HG All Gundam Project for instance."

"Plus, it's not difficult to just snap things together. Besides, we rushed this build so you can test it out immediately." Kanade added as she made her way over to her battle system to start it up.

"So I'll be fighting with this?" Aya asked, picking up the Ground Type from the table.

"Yep."

"I'm not sure I'm ready to take you guys on though."

"It's just a little test to see where your skills lie. I'll set the damage to C so the models don't get damaged." Kanade assured her while Nagisa got up to pick a random model lying around in Kanade's workshop.

"I'll be your opponent." Nagisa informed her as she brings her chosen machine to the battle system. "Ironically, this machine was your Gundam's opponent in the anime."

"Alright." Aya nodded as she takes up the challenge.

"And, a present from me!" Kanade hands Aya a GP Base. "Remember, you can't fight Gunpla Battle without it."

"Thank you!" Aya thanks Kanade and faces Nagisa.

* * *

 _Gunpla Battle, Combat Mode, Startup!_

 _Model Damage Level, set to C!_

 _Please, set your GP Base!_

The two girls then placed their respective GP Bases on the scanner, recognizing their identity and their model's information. The particles then materialized their battlefield, which was composed of lush vegetation and tall, rocky mountain crags.

 _Field 03: Forest_

 _Please set your Gunpla!_

The two girls set their respective models, allowing the machine to scan it and bring it to life as well.

 _OPERATOR_

 _Builder Name: Kanade Takamine_

 _Fighter Name: Nagisa Makinami_

 _GUNPLA_

 _Scale: 1/144_

 _Class: HG_

 _Model: MS-07B-3_

 _Name: Gouf Custom_

Nagisa had chosen the Gouf Custom, Norris Packard's Mobile Suit from the anime _The 08_ _th_ _MS Team_. It had a massive gatling gun mounted underneath its shield and a large physical sword. Aya felt intimidated just looking at it.

 _OPERATOR_

 _Builder Name: Aya Saihara_

 _Fighter Name: Aya Saihara_

 _GUNPLA_

 _Scale: 1/144_

 _Class: HG_

 _Model: RX-79 [G]_

 _Name: Gundam Ground Type_

And of course, Aya was using a vanilla Gundam Ground Type with no modifications nor additional detailing. Aya flinched upon seeing its low stats on the parameter screen. Still, it was just a little practice exercise. Besides, it didn't seem like Nagisa's machine had any further improvements as well.

 _Battle Start!_

"Ready?" Nagisa's Gouf skids across the launch pad, donning its gatling shield in front as if anticipating a pre-emptive attack.

"Let's go!" On the other hand, Aya launched and immediately took to the trees for cover, as if emulating the same maneuver her cousin did in their earlier fight. Noticing this, Nagisa calmly looked to her guns and scanned the forest floor for any sign of movement.

"There you are!" The Gouf's guns flashed with gunfire, sending a concentrated barrage of bullets roaring through the trees, colliding with what appears to be a huge metallic object concealed by the undergrowth. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be the Ground Type's shield.

The Gundam though, was not hiding behind it.

"What?" Nagisa screens suddenly flashed with an alert as the Ground Type flew out from its side, letting loose a barrage with its machine gun. She halts her attack and focused on defense, boosting backwards while letting her shield take the brunt of the attack.

"Hmm…" From outside, Kanade observed the beginner's aptitude. _"She seems to have good reflexes. She's not that bad at using her guns but—"_ Kanade reserves judgement for now as she opted to observe for a bit longer.

In the meantime, Nagisa had reached a good enough distance to counterattack with her guns, letting them loose. Aya's Ground Type attempted to dodge out of the way but couldn't in time, with some bullets chipping away some of its armor parts.

"Ngh!" Aya groaned as she struggled with the controls trying to get her Ground Type into position again. For some reason, the Gunpla isn't as responsive as she wants it to be, straining and struggling at her sudden shifts in movement.

"Don't feel too bad about this!" In the ensuing confusion, the Gouf had closed in with its metal blade drawn and poised to strike. Aya responded by dropping the submachine gun and drawing her beam saber to parry the attack.

"Nice catch—urk!" Anticipating just a quick parry, Nagisa was a bit shocked when Aya immediately drew the second one with her Gundam's free hand and drove it straight at the Gouf's torso. Her hands immediately shifted the controls a little to the left to dodge, with the saber only grazing a fraction of its torso but it was enough time for the Ground Type to get up again and strike both the Gouf's sword and shield with its beam sabers.

"Come on, faster!" Aya roared as she tries to keep up the barrage despite the lag in controlling her machine. Unfortunately, the Gundam's movement was just a tad bit too slow.

"There!" Taking advantage of the straight built nature of the machine and its relatively low performance, Nagisa managed to exploit an opening by dropping the heavy gun and ramming the Gundam's torso with the shield, sending it crashing down. Taking its sword with both hands, the Gouf rammed the blade down on the Ground Type with its full weight so it wouldn't have the opportunity to counterattack. The Ground Type's chest mounted gun fired but the Gouf ignored the minor damage and went straight on, stabbing the Gundam's torso.

 _Battle Ended!_

* * *

"I lost." Aya muttered as the particles ceased dispersing, looking at her snap-built model lying still on the ground.

"If it's any consolation, your machine's just a bit too weak." Nagisa immediately comforts her. "Besides, we only did this to check how well you do and what your preferred style is like."

"Yeah, you were able to give Nagi-chan here a hard time even with that so don't worry!" Kanade echoes the sentiment.

"Of course, it's not as if I fought with all I have either." Nagisa clarified, smiling just a little.

"Yeah, yeah right." Kanade just scoffed.

"So…?" Aya asked, wondering about her assessment.

"Huh, oh yeah. Well—" Kanade sat down, taking what appeared to be a sheet of plastic from a shelf and drawing shapes of some sort on it. "Based on what I watched, you seem to favor melee weapons however, your skills with the rifle ain't that bad—at close or medium ranges. I did notice you trying to force the machine a little too much with your saber technique though. Sorry to break it to you but, the Ground Type ain't exactly the most agile kit in the market."

"So I chose the wrong machine then?"

"Not exactly." After drawing and measuring the shapes, Kanade started cutting them out with a modelling knife. "The Ground Type is still a good base for custom work. I'm sure we can just slap a bunch of scraps on it and it'll be good for your use and your preferred style. So…any requests?"

"Hmm…" Aya thought for a bit, reflecting on their concluded battle. "I want to improve its arms somehow—make it just a bit faster when it comes to wielding the swords. Oh, and I want to be able to fight with it in space—"

Yoite watched the three girls go back and forth with their idea discussion and just smiled. "Well, I suppose they'll be at it until later then." He laughs as he turns his attention back to the register as his two friends shows his younger cousin various tips and tricks on how to accomplish her ideal customizations.

* * *

 _Aya's Room_

True to her word, Aya returned home a little before dinnertime, bringing her newest snap-built Gunpla along. The remainder of the time she spent in Kanade's hobby store revolved on using other techniques like kitbashing, using pla-plates and putty and coming up with custom color schemes. Having learned all these tricks, a whole batch of other options were now available to her.

Yet it still hasn't given Aya much to go on. Groaning, she rested her head on her bedside table, wondering how to improve the snap-built Gunpla sitting on it. From the results of her battle, it seems like she shines best when fighting opponents up close. However, against something like a sniper, she'll be put at a severe disadvantage.

"Urgh…Maybe some of Kanade's parts can help me come up with something." She reached for the Ground Type's Box. Kanade had fabricated her some dress up armor components and a few scrap parts as something of a bonus though she had to pay a small fee for them.

"Hmm…what did this Gundam do in the story anyway?" Aya suddenly thought as she went to her PC to read up her model's role in the context of its story. _"Hmm…used in anti-Zeon operations on Earth—that doesn't give me much to go on at all. The model number though—"_

She was rather intrigued by the model number, wondering if it meant the machine came as a series. Perhaps she can look for clues in the machine's succession? Glancing back at her model, she then browsed the next machine in its line by changing 79 to 80.

"RX-80PR Pale Rider huh?" Aya reads out the result that appeared on her search. Compared to her machine, it looked better armed and armored, along with what appears to be space capabilities.

"Hmm…"

* * *

 _Castle City – Toy's Town_

"Good morning…" Aya groggily greets Kanade as she entered the shop. As per their agreement, Kanade suggested she teach her while the school term hasn't started yet to make the most of their remaining vacation time in the shop.

"Morning! Scrub No.1 not around today?" Kanade greets back, making her way over to the tired-looking girl. "What's the matter? Why do you look like you've been wailing all night?"

"Well—I read up some of my model's lore and came up with an idea. I spent all night working on it." Aya sighed as she sat on a stool and took out her model's box from the bag, opening it to show the unfinished model.

Aya's Gunpla looked very different from its earlier incarnation. The shoulder armor had been redesigned to accommodate some of the thrusters given by Kanade while the torso had been improved with added plating and by replacing the chest mounted cannon with a pair of smaller Vulcans near the shoulders. The legs also had armor and thruster parts installed at the sides and back, in order to add to the machine's maneuverability.

"This looks a lot like a Pale Rider with the Gundam's head." It was the only words Kanade can use to describe the modification. "Had I known you'd be taking this direction, I would've suggested you just get the Pale Rider kit itself. Of course, we don't actually carry the Premium stuff haha!"

Aya groaned. "And to think I stayed up all night for that…"

"Relax! Your customized machine would perform slightly better than if you just bought that kit and snap-built it—" Kanade picks up the incomplete machine for a closer look and immediately, certain armor sections and some of the thrusters fell off. "—if its new parts were attached properly—why are you using double-sided tape to tack the parts on, may I ask?"

"I didn't want to risk the glue melting the plastic without asking you first…"

"Haaah? Oh well, no matter. Let's just go to the back and let me show you how it's done…" Likewise, Kanade just sighed and ushered the beginner to the back room. Immediately, Aya noticed the unusual quiet inside the shop.

"Uhh…Nagisa's not around today?" She asked, wondering about Nagisa.

"Yeah. Heard she had something to do at home so it's just you and me today." Kanade replied as she sat down, breaking the model apart into separate sections for easy modification. Aya takes a seat next to her and watched, sometimes applying the technique she saw to her own piece in an attempt to achieve the same result.

"There! You'll want to give the glue enough time to cure before playing with it. Otherwise it might come off easily. Same thing with paint—ah! You already built other, non-Gunpla models before right? It's basically the same thing." Kanade explained.

"Yep. Didn't really customize those things before though." Aya recalled as she clasps together two parts in a small vice to help with its adhesion. "Back then, I always thought just building it and painting it nicely is the end of the overall process."

"Well, we're fighters so we really get gritty and dirty with our models. However, if simply building it and painting it nicely is what makes you enjoy it then I don't see why not. You don't have to force yourself to modify it if you don't want to."

"I guess. Still—I want to do it."

"Which is why you came to me isn't it?" Kanade asks in a rhetorical tone. "You know, I don't really like saying this cause my ego's big as a freakin' elephant but, if you really want to take it a next level then you should try asking other modelers for tips too."

"Why? Are there other people better than you?"

"Hell nah! I'm the best there is, yep!" Kanade boasted, pausing her work for a bit. "But of course, it can't hurt to listen to other's ideas too. Especially now that you're just starting out—no, let me correct that. There isn't really a pinnacle when it comes to this hobby. Everyone's constantly trying to improve themselves."

"Even you?"

Kanade nodded. "Not just me. Nagisa, Yoite—we're all learning from each other every time. I was the one who taught Yoite about Gunpla yet he was the one who taught me other shit like not layering lacquer over acrylic haha!"

"Y-You didn't know that?"

"Yeah and if it wasn't for your cousin, I never would've found out!" Kanade informed her.

The two girls continued working, trying to bring Aya's little concept into a tangible form. Scribing, sanding, puttying—Aya applied all these with Kanade guiding her every step of the way. Just a little past lunchtime, the primer had dried enough to allow paint application and the two resumed their work there.

"Gotta hand it to you Scrub No.2. You've got good and steady hands." Kanade compliments Aya just as she was coloring the eyes manually by hand.

"Well, I'm not really a newbie when it comes to painting."

"Speaking of which, do you have a color scheme in mind?" Kanade suddenly asks. "I mean, given the reflected world of this model kit and your background, I'd think you'll be opting for a military-esque camo feel to it. However, nothing wrong with giving it a very stylized look I suppose. So, what would it be?"

"I haven't really decided yet." Aya suddenly realized. She'd been too busy with the modifications she forgot about deciding on the model's color.

"Well, you can skip it altogether I suppose though it won't exactly win any beauty contests with just primer alone." Kanade grinned. "Of course, if you're building it purely for battle, then it's a different story."

"Well, I—"

"Hey, anyone here?" A voice suddenly called out from the other side of the counter.

"Shit! I forgot to mind the store. Wait here a little." Kanade informed Aya as she goes out for a while. Realizing that she has nothing better to do outside of waiting for some of the paint to dry, Aya decides to follow her nonetheless.

Outside, Kanade was assisting a guy who had come in with two girls beside him. He seemed rather cocky with the way he dressed and acted around Kanade who was only assisting them. Curious to see how it'll turn out, Aya moves in closer to listen.

"Listen, I'm just looking for a specific Gundam model but, your store doesn't seem to have it." The guy informs Kanade with a rather cocky smirk.

"Well, we're not exactly a big shop but we still have a good selection. Why don't you just tell me the name of the machine and I'll see if we have any in the back?" Kanade suggested, gesturing to the back room.

"Nah, you probably wouldn't know about it—it is pretty rare after all." Nonetheless, the guy seemed to brush off Kanade's attempts to help them out.

"Well, I won't be able to find out if you don't tell me what it is you're looking for exactly."

"Like I said, you probably don't know it." The guy nonetheless brushes it off. "Look, you're probably just slaving away for minimum wage and you don't really care what you're selling here so don't worry. I won't trouble you, right?" He turns to the girls who just giggled.

" _This guy's being unreasonably difficult…"_ Aya thought as she pretended to just overhear their conversation while she walked towards them.

"Oh yeah? Try me." Still, Kanade refused to give up.

"Oh, very well then. I'm looking for that red thing you know? The Destroy Mode?" The guy finally relented though he kept his smirk all the while. "The one for the 00 Raiser."

Upon hearing that though, Kanade suddenly burst into laughter, surprising even Aya. She immediately composed herself to explain.

"Well, Destroy Mode's for Unicorn or the Banshee. But not for the 00 Raiser haha!"

Hearing this, the guy's face suddenly turned beet red as the two girls started laughing at him. Not wanting to be done in, he railed at Kanade further.

"No! 00 Raiser's got a Destroy Mode too! It turns red! Sheesh, this is exactly what I was talking about, you don't know what it is you're selling." The boy tried to catch himself but only succeeded in making Kanade laugh harder.

"No it doesn't! It's called TRANS-AM! Anyway, that's what you're looking for right? I think I've—"

"No! I'm pretty sure it's called Destroy Mode!"

"Like I said—"

"Oh, so you're just going to embarrass me? What kind of service is this?" The guy complained as the two girls tried to stifle their laughs though they did take the guy's side.

"Yeah! You know, we should report you to the manager and get you fired!" One of the girls piped up.

"Haaah?" Kanade was visibly surprised at the girl's words. Aya tried to stifle her laughter but failed, catching the attention of the rude guy.

"And what are you laughing at?! You think you're some kind of smart-ass too?! I know more about this merch than you do so don't go around laughing at me!" The guy flared up, adding more to his reddened face from the prior embarrassment, as he confronted Aya. He espied the GP Base she just got, sitting loosely on her jacket's pocket. "You got a GP Base huh? So you battle?"

Aya nodded. She was just about to explain she's just started but the guy immediately cuts her off.

"Why don't you see my skill before laughing at me then? Come on!" He challenged, arms spread out wide.

"Well it can't be helped. You can use the back room if you want to Aya. But—" Kanade suggested though she was also aware of Aya's lack of experience. "This guy may not know his Zakus and Goufs but I'd reckon he at least fights well. Guess I'll have to help out a bit—"

"In that case—" Hearing Kanade's suggestion, the two girls also stepped up. "Let's just make it a team battle then. Three of us against the two of you. I suppose it's fair since you girls are the 'experts' am I right?"

Aya and Kanade looked at each other and just nodded, regardless of the unfair condition. "Alright. Let me get my machine started in the back." Kanade gestures to the backroom with a cheeky grin.

"I should warn you though. I'm quite strong." The guy just smirks.

* * *

 _Gunpla Battle, Combat Mode, Startup!_

 _Model Damage Level, set to C!_

 _Please, set your GP Base!_

"Can I pull this off?" Aya wondered as she set her GP Base on the machine. Her Gunpla, currently incomplete and lacking a couple more weapons only had the Ground Type's original machine gun and beam sabers. The shield was still unfinished.

"Don't worry! I can take on all three of them just fine!" Kanade boasts as she takes out her Gunpla. Looking on it, Aya observed it was different from the one she used to beat Yoite the last time.

 _Field 07: Ruins_

Glancing at the battlefield, the particles revealed the image of an ancient stone ruin set deep into the jungle. Aya wondered if the setting was based from a scenario from the Gundam anime or from something which actually existed. The crags and rocks all seemed to have weird inscriptions on them. Mayan probably.

 _Please set your Gunpla!_

Left with no other choice, Aya sets her new, customized Gundam Ground Type. Upon scanning, her GP Base suddenly notified her of something so she glanced down at it. Apparently, the machine had recognized the customizations she had done on it and was now presenting her with a prompt to alter her model's identification. Seeing that she hadn't completely made up her mind just yet, she just enters in a simple name to differentiate it from its base model.

 _OPERATOR_

 _Builder Name: Aya Saihara_

 _Fighter Name: Aya Saihara_

 _GUNPLA_

 _Scale: 1/144_

 _Class: HG + Scratch_

 _Model: RX-79 [A]_

 _Name: Custom Gundam_

Having set both her model and her GP Base, Aya glances up at Kanade who had also set her model in.

 _OPERATOR_

 _Builder Name: Kanade Takamine_

 _Fighter Name: Kanade Takamine_

 _GUNPLA_

 _Scale: 1/144_

 _Class: HG + Scratch_

 _Model: GAT-X131CW_

 _Name: Clockwork Calamity Gundam_

Kanade sets in a modified version of the Calamity Gundam from Gundam SEED. It differentiated itself by sporting a weathered, metallic finish with various rivet and bolt details and exposed ornamental piston details, giving it a clockpunk robot feel. It's Schlag Beam Cannons were replaced with custom smoothbore cannons while its Plasma Sabot Bazooka was replaced with a massive beam rifle.

What was really noticeable was the shield. It was round, looking more like a large buckler rather than the original anti-beam shield's kite-like design. Aya figures there's a gimmick hidden in that weapon but for what it is, she didn't know yet.

"I hope you didn't forget to set the damage level to C. I don't want to damage your models." The guy boasted as his machine stood by with the girl's machines, waiting to launch. Their side had a weathered GM Striker and a black Bertigo piloted by the two girls respectively. The guy on the other hand, was piloting a black Impulse Gundam with the Chaos Gundam's backpack mounted.

 _Battle Start!_

"Let's go!" Kanade roared as her machine deployed from the launch pad.

"Taking off!" Aya follows suit and her machine leaves the launch pad and dives directly behind one of the jagged rocks dotting the landscape. As soon as she landed, she spots a new window frame on her screen, showing Kanade's control module.

"It's important to talk with your teammates in team fights so keep this open scrub. Oh, and don't worry about the guys on the other side. They can't hear us here. Well, we can't hear them either but we don't need to know their plans." Kanade explains.

"Speaking of plans—" Aya asked as her machine silently moved around the forest floor, taking care not to get spotted. "—do we have any?"

"Hmm…" Kanade thought for a moment. "None! Just go in and wipe them out before they wipe us out!"

"Seriously?!" Aya panicked upon hearing that, just as her alert flared on the left, indicating the presence of an enemy. Her machine turned to the side and out came the GM Striker, its Twin Beam Spear drawn and aimed at Aya's Gundam. She retaliates by firing a volley from her machine gun but the enemy just shrugs off the damage with its armor.

"Snap-fit and weak guns won't work—!" With a single swipe, the GM Striker disarms Aya's machine gun, knocking it out of the Gundam's hand. Aya disengages and backs off, firing distractive shots with her Vulcans which barely had any effect. "You're mine!" Realizing the custom Gundam's weapons were useless against it, the GM Striker grew confident and charged in.

 _Bam! Boom!_

Just as she closed in though, two high-caliber shells flew towards them, sending debris flying from the impact. Aya's machine managed to get away in time and so did the GM Striker though it lost its spear in the ensuing attack. The GM Striker's pilot glanced at the direction of the shots and met face to face with Kanade's Calamity Gundam.

"Hope you're not forgetting about me now!" Kanade roared as her machine fired another volley, effectively separating the GM Striker from its enemy.

"Of course not! Hey!" The GM Striker's pilot yelled to her side and out from the sky, both the Bertigo and the Impulse descended with their weapons drawn, aiming for the Calamity. Kanade immediately adjusted her position to fire the large beam rifle but its more agile opponents merely avoided the attack.

"Let her have it!" The man's Impulse fired its beam rifle while the Bertigo unleashed its bits to barrage the Calamity with concentrated fire. Kanade managed to get her shield up in time and immediately retreated to the forest.

"Don't let her get away!"

"Got it!" Seeing this, the GM Striker moved in to pursue the Calamity instead but just as it changed direction, Aya's Gundam popped out from behind and tackled the GM, using its added thrusters to propel it at greater speeds.

"Damn it! I've had enough of you!" The GM Striker draws out its beam saber and Aya responded by taking out her own, engaging the GM in melee combat.

On the other hand, Kanade's Calamity quietly moved around the forest, keeping its head low to avoid early visual detection.

"Vantage point exploited already? Damn, this is just not my lucky day…" She sighed as she headed for another set of ruins to take cover in. Unfortunately, she had to pass a clearing before that and just as her Gundam stepped out from the forest cover, the Bertigo reappears along with its bits.

"I knew you'd be heading to this place!" The Bertigo's controller roared as the bits fired off at once.

"So you were staking it out huh? In that case—" Kanade immediately made her Calamity hover upwards, charging the Scylla energy cannon. "Eat this!" With a large roar, the Gundam fires the massive beam cannon from its abdomen, aiming it at the Bertigo. The black machine narrowly dodged the attack but over half its bits were destroyed.

"Hey!" The Bertigo's pilot called out and from the opposite side, the Impulse Gundam flew out, unleashing a flurry of missiles at the Calamity. Kanade intercepted these using its beam rifle and smoothbores but a couple still made it through, destroying the Calamity's beam rifle though the rest were blocked by the shield.

"Not bad! Guess I have to—" Kanade immediately moves to another weapon slot and selected the hidden armament in her shield. The Calamity's shield rotated to reveal a tri-missile pod hidden within. "Eat this!"

"What—?" Caught off guard by the gimmick, the Impulse tried to intercept the missiles but was unable to do so in time, and one was able to land, destroying one of its Mobile Pods, throwing it off balance and sending it crashing to the forest.

"Hah!" Kanade's Calamity landed on the ground, followed immediately by the Bertigo which had its beam sabers drawn.

"Try this then!" The Bertigo's beam sabers slashed downwards and Kanade intercepted it with the shield, using sheer bulk and power to knock the opponent away but the Bertigo responded by adding the second beam saber to it.

"Try again!"

"You see, the thing with numbers is—" Hearing the Impulse's fighter, Kanade turned to see the machine emerge from the forest with its beam rifle, aimed at the Calamity's back. "One of us will always be in your blind spot!"

" _Shit!"_ Kanade thought as panic sets in as the Impulse poised to strike. She tried to push the Bertigo away and get out but it was proving a bit difficult to do so. There was no way of guarding against two attacks at once with only one shield.

 _"And so what if one is always in the blind spot? Then just shoot in the blind spot."_ Suddenly, another voice called out to Kanade's communications window just as another machine appeared on radar.

"What the—" Before Kanade could process what was going on, a beam rifle shot fired at the Impulse, destroying both its arm and its rifle in the process.

"Where did that—?!" The guy turned around and just across it stood a red Zaku II, built with the Origins Zaku II as base. It sported a dusty cloak and had various black skull decals on it. It also sported a backpack that carried the shields of the Zaku Phantom painted in a similar color scheme.

It was holding a beam sniper rifle and a large axe was holstered on its back.

"Late as usual aren't we? Damn you Nagisa!" Kanade yelled out but Nagisa, the Zaku II's controller just smiled.

"Sorry."

"Hey, who said you can interfere?!" The Impulse's controller yelled angrily as it directed its attention to the red Zaku. Beam saber drawn, it charged at it, even while it was missing its other hand.

"Family is family. Besides, now the match is even. Although—" Seeing this, Nagisa's Zaku drops its sniper and draws out the massive beam axe which is similar to the one used by the Slash Zaku Phantom. "It doesn't seem like it's staying that way for long."

"Bitch!"

The two Mobile Suits charged at each other though the superior reach of Nagisa's weapon ensured that it was the Impulse which was cleaved first before it could even come a hair's breadth of her Zaku. The Impulse was now officially down for the count.

"Yeah, great going cuz!" Kanade cheered upon seeing Nagisa beat the guy's Gunpla.

"And where do you think you're looking at?" The Bertigo's fighter yelled angrily as she pushed on further, almost pushing the heavier Calamity back. "I've still got the advantage against you up close!"

To her surprise though, the shield rotated another time before locking in place. "Think again, tough gal!" As Kanade yelled, a beam saber deployed from the shield and with the Bertigo busy wailing at the shield, she was able to slip the weapon past the Bertigo's arms, severing the black mobile suit diagonally as the Calamity sliced upwards, effectively ending the battle.

"Guess you didn't expect that huh?" Kanade boasted as the Calamity's beam saber deactivated just as Nagisa's Zaku ran up to her.

"Aya!" Nagisa reminded.

"Ah, right. Shit!"

Back with Aya's battle, she had been putting up a good fight so far though she was beginning to see that her opponent's no amateur in close quarters. The GM Striker was able to block and parry most of her attacks and pretty soon, she found herself pushed back.

" _Had I gone against her without the modifications, I would've already lost for sure…"_ Aya realized but still. Despite finding the opponent to be quite difficult, the difference in her machine's performance was highly noticeable. There was no more lag in the joints and the Gunpla was now moving in sync with her sudden shifts in maneuvering and attacking.

"Tiring out now? I guess in the end, you're just a rookie!" With a strong thrust, the GM overpowers Aya's custom Gundam and disarms it of its beam saber. It immediately followed up with a kick and sent Aya's machine flying backwards to the ruins.

" _Now!"_ Immediately, Aya got the new leg thrusters to work, allowing her to re-orient her machine's position back to normal just as the GM Striker charged on.

"Not a bad recovery but—!" The GM Striker leaps up for a powerful vertical slash but—

"Not yet!" Aya's Gundam immediately grabs the GM Striker's beam spear and thrusted upwards, catching the GM Striker off guard and ,using its superior length, slams it on the ground.

"Ngh!"

"And to finish—!" Aya immediately tries to go for the kill with the spear but the GM Striker recovered quickly enough to take hold of the spear with both hands, locking both of them in place as it tried to take back its original weapon.

"Aya!" Nagisa screamed from the forest, causing Aya to turn around. As she did, Nagisa throws her the spare beam axe she kept. Aya lets go of the spear with her left hand and used it to catch the weapon. The GM Striker managed to use it this as an opening to reclaim its weapon but Aya's new axe swept downwards, cleaving the GM Striker just as it backed away.

 _Battle Ended!_

* * *

"Damn! We lost?" The guy stood stupefied, unable to process the fact he had lost. Compared to him, the two girls seemed a bit more relaxed and cool with their defeat.

"I won…" Aya on the other hand, couldn't believe she had just won. While a large part of her victory was owed to Nagisa and Kanade's help, she did take on the GM Striker by herself and was able to fight head-to-head with it.

"That was a close call." Nagisa takes a deep breath as she collects her Gunpla. "Good thing I made it in time."

"Hah! I could've pushed all three of them back by myself just fine!" Kanade crosses her arms and turns away from her cousin.

"Heh! I doubt it."

While the rest collected their Gunplas, Kanade goes up to one of the large boxes in the storeroom. She takes out an HG box from it and walks up to the guy to show him. It was the HG 00 Raiser TRANS-AM version.

"Was this what you were looking for sir?" Kanade asked, flashing him a very wide smile.

"Huh? Uh…yeah, I guess…" The man sheepishly admits while the girls just chuckled.

"Can you kindly read out the name just so we're clear on this?" Kanade added, trying to rub it in a little more. The man just sighed.

"00 Raiser TRANS-AM. Yeah."

"So will you be getting this kit sir?"

"Huh? Oh, uh—yeah. I guess."

Kanade's smile grew bigger. "Alright. Kindly follow me to the counter~"

Kanade leads the three people out of the room, leaving only Nagisa and Aya in the back room. Nagisa walked over to the young girl to check what has become of her original Gundam model overnight.

"Heh, nice work~ I can see a bit of Pale Rider there." Nagisa compliments the build. Aya felt a little proud hearing her little creation being complimented.

"Thanks~"

"No color scheme yet?" Nagisa asked, wondering at the all-white and grey color scheme which looked just like primer. Mostly because it was.

"No, not yet." Aya sighed. "I don't really have a particular color scheme in mind."

Hearing that, Nagisa just smiled as she sat down next to the young girl. "Hey, do you want me to tell you a trick to making your machine go three times faster?"

Aya of course, nodded.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Long chapter! Chapter 3 is completed! Two simultaneous battles is really taxing. Hope it was satisfactory to you readers! Custom builds would start appearing soon so I hope you look forward to it. I'll try drafting a specs sheet for the custom machines to be compiled later on.**

 **And with that, I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 4 - A Council of Dragons

****(Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam franchise. Credits goes to Bandai/Sunrise and their staff for making this wonderful mecha franchise.)****

 **Gundam Build Fighters – Cyber Era**

 **Chapter 4 – A Council of Dragons**

* * *

 _Holy Dragon Institute Building – Meeting Hall_

Further up North within Castle City, a magnificent skyscraper stood towering above most establishments in the area. It was decorated in an old Romanesque style and much of the wall was now covered in black patina, indicating that it has been built quite some time ago. Beautiful arches bearing dragons decorated certain sections of the building, giving it an overall, intimidating look.

In stark contrast to its classy exterior, the interior of the building was very modern and up-to-date with the best of housing technologies. Fluorescent lights, elevators, air-conditioning and the works. However, as large as the building was, there were only a few people working at the time.

The lower floors were mostly delegated as an automobile sales center; with the actual showroom being on the first floor. Beyond that, only a handful of individuals were allowed even within the company's ranks.

An impressive glass elevator carried an aging man, his hair turned silver with the harsh passage of time, decked in a respectable business suit with a red tie. Beside him was a female secretary. They rode the elevator to the 22nd floor and the doors opened to a dimly-lit corridor leading to a set of double doors.

Beyond the doors was a huge round table made of mahogany with certain sections adorned with wooden podiums. In place of other people however, these podiums had pillars with them, with each pillar carrying a uniquely designed dragon statue whose eyes seemed to grow eerily in the low light.

At present, there were six dragon statues in the room, all made from different materials and with different colored eyes. To the right of the man's seat was a Chinese dragon made of bronze with red eyes. At his left was a three-headed dragon made of jade with golden eyes. To the left of the bronze dragon was a clear, glass wyvern with blue eyes and on the opposite side beside the jade dragon was a black glass wyvern with almost pink eyes. Directly opposite the man, on the other and of the round table was a beautiful anthropomorphic marble dragon with purple eyes. To the left of this dragon was a ceramic wingless dragon with orange eyes. To its right was a steel sea dragon with green eyes though this dragon's eye remained unlit—the only one in the room with unlit eyes.

All of these statues were unmoving, save for the eerie glow of their eyes. Clearing his throat as he stepped up to talk, the aging man glared at the statues while his secretary got to work on booting up the laptop and projector.

"Hmm…Even without you guys here, I can tell that you're probably wondering why I've called you over today. Well, there's just an issue I want to discuss with you. Ah, but first—" The aging man turns to the wingless ceramic dragon. "I believe you have something to report to me?"

" _Yes."_ A voice came out from the ceramic dragon's mouth although one could tell it had been altered to some point, making it difficult to associate a face to the voice. _"Namely the upcoming Expo. I heard there'll be something like a tournament involved so it might be a good chance to—"_

" _Hah! At this point, I don't think these Expos are anything relevant to us. Trying to scrape the most of our usefulness now are we?"_ As if to shut it down, the bronze dragon spoke up, with clear malice in their tone.

" _If you would just give me a chance—!"_ The ceramic dragon pleaded.

" _Ohohoho…do you have any idea how pathetic you sound right now?"_ The jade dragon jeered at the ceramic dragon. _"Almost like a lowly urchin begging for alms."_

" _Honestly."_ The clear glass wyvern echoed.

"Enough." Hearing all this, the man stepped in to intervene. Turning to the ceramic dragon, he continued. "Yes, I have heard of the upcoming Expo by Yajima. Rest assured I'm already doing something about it. In the meantime, just stay on standby in your little club and report your findings should you get any."

" _Tch!"_ The ceramic dragon grunted though at the end of the day, there was no use protesting any further. _"Okay. Well then, I'll be taking my leave now."_

After saying that, the voice faded out and the ceramic dragon's eyes grew dim, signaling that it was turned off. Seeing this, some of the other dragons broke out into laughter.

" _Hahaha! They've outlived their usefulness. I think it's about time to let him off the hook don't you think?"_ The bronze dragon suggested.

" _No!"_ Surprisingly, the marble dragon protested against this move. _"As a mole, they've still got their uses. Let them hang around for a little while longer—at least until our 'reveal'."_

"Yes. They have done us good service in the past." The man agrees with the marble dragon. "Anyway, this isn't about them. Rather, it's about what happened a couple of weeks ago."

The female secretary brings up the footage of the server attack, showing the unknown Gundam fighting through their defense systems made up of various mass-production Mobile suit models.

" _Tch!"_ The marble dragon flinched once the footage shifted into the battle between the unknown Gundam and the black Sinanju.

"Then, just a couple of days later—" The man paused and gestured to his secretary to shift the footage to the one taken within PLANET, specifically Toy's Town's home server where the same unidentified Gundam made its second appearance. "Well, opinions?"

" _I would guess that it's a hacker of sorts. Probably hid in the Neutral Zone after escaping us and breaking through to the Central Hub when they are able to."_ The marble dragon gives his two cents worth on the matter. _"I would assume that they must've dived from somewhere nearby when they infiltrated our server. Probably one of the dive shops around our vicinity. They probably did a forced logout and fled back home to retrieve their Gunpla's data. That explains why it suddenly chose to break through the Central Hub like that."_

"Sounds reasonable." The man nodded at the marble dragon's words. "I also think your guess is spot-on."

" _Too bad your battle skills aren't what it used to be."_ The bronze dragon jeered at the marble dragon. _"What's the matter? Getting too old for this?"_

" _At the end of the day, blame falls partly on your shoulders for letting them get away doesn't it?"_ The black glass wyvern added.

" _I'll have you know I have no intention of making any excuses."_ The marble dragon answered back, keeping their cool. _"I'm willing to take responsibility for my own failures. I shouldn't have let them get away."_

"In the end, what's done is done. There's no need to let this escalate." Again, the man steps in to placate the others. "The most important thing to do now is—"

" _Find whoever did it right? I figured as much…"_ The jade dragon cuts before the man can even finish his sentence.

" _Easier said than done. All we know for now is that they've hacked in from somewhere close by."_ The black wyvern reminded them.

" _They may have even left the city."_

"No." Despite the points brought up before him, the man simply dismissed all of them. "I think they're still here. Someone who broke into the server like that must have some form of malice towards us and our operations. Someone who knows us too well. It's just my gut feeling but I don't think they'll stop until they unearth our 'secrets'."

" _I agree. They have come close after all. I'm sure they'll try it again."_ The marble dragon immediately echoes the man's sentiment. _"Holy Dragon's Operations haven't gone beyond Castle City so anyone who might've even caught a glimpse of the 'plan' should be just around here."_

" _Even then, we do not even know where to start looking."_ The bronze dragon retorted.

"Hmm…looking around the Toy's Town server shows that it's owned by a 'Takamine Kanade', a student at Suzuran High School. Maybe we can try asking around there?" The man wondered, going over some of the facts he managed to dig up.

" _Wasn't that newb we recently recruited heading there too? Maybe we can get them to ask around?"_ The black wyvern suggested.

" _That's actually brilliant heehee~"_ The jade dragon seemed to support the idea. _"I'll keep a close eye on them if you want. We'd be staying together for a while after all heehee~"_

"That would be much appreciated, thank you."

" _Back to the topic of this intruder's identity…they could be an agent sent by Yajima."_ The bronze dragon realized. _"In that case, won't you be screwed?"_

" _If that was the case then Yajima would've already moved in to stop us these past few days."_ The marble dragon countered. _"Not to mention Yajima's also looking for this intruder. I believe you've seen the news reports?"_

"Yes. What this intruder just showed is that even until now, security issues are still common within PLANET. Of course, Yajima would pour everything to address this issue like sending an Enforcer regiment to track this intruder. If you ask me, the chances of them being a Yajima agent is quite small." The man reasoned out.

" _So whoever got into our network is just another troublemaker then?"_

" _Hey, I just recalled something…"_ The bronze dragon suddenly caught their attention. _"Some thugs who run with me in the Zone filled me in on what they called "The Reaper". Supposedly some fighter who ambushes people in the Zone for unknown reasons. Could it be…?"_

" _Hmm…admittedly, it is possible."_ Surprisingly, the marble dragon agreed with the idea. _"If this Reaper does behave like that, I can imagine they'll want to try attacking protected servers eventually."_

" _So, we'll be going after this Reaper then?"_ The jade dragon asked. _"I don't really want to stick my business in the inner depths of the Zone."_

"Not quite. Just keep the fact in mind. If we just focus on unmasking this Reaper only to find out it wasn't them, then we're stuck at a dead end." The man reminded them. "However, we can't ignore the fact that this Reaper hangs around the Zone and our intruder conveniently escaped through the same way. From here on, your new mission would be to monitor any suspicious movements in the Neutral Zone."

" _Understood."_ The marble dragon agreed.

" _Seconded."_ So did the bronze dragon. _"Let me see if I can mobilize a couple of my boys and girls out there."_

" _Well, unfortunately I've got an image to maintain. Plus, I'll be with the rookie. So I'm out of this one."_ The jade dragon doesn't agree.

"Well, we need to fill in their shoes…" The man now turns to the two wyverns. "Will it take you long to get here?"

" _Hmm…maybe not too long if we leave early. We'll probably get there in a week or two."_ The clear glass wyvern replied. _"Just to warn you though…we don't really dabble in these…toys."_

"I've got you covered on that end. I'm sure our research team can come up with something you can utilize with your…'unique' talents." The man assures them.

" _Good. It better be an elegant one."_

" _Heh!"_ The bronze dragon chuckled, brimming with enthusiasm. _"Hunting down the Reaper sounds like a good way to waste time!"_

" _Not the Reaper—the intruder, who could just potentially be the same guy. Prove to me that you can do a better job then."_ The marble dragon just scoffed at the bronze dragon. The bronze dragon didn't seem to take nicely to it.

" _Oh, I will old man. In fact, I'll do even better!"_

"Good." Seeing that no one has any objections to the plan, the man gestured for the secretary to start packing up. "Now that all things have been sorted…everyone—dismissed!"

* * *

 _Suzuran High School – Gates_

Back in the city, night had already fallen, dimming the whole atmosphere of the classy looking campus which still remained closed. The guards roamed around, taking turns patrolling the dark campus, flashlights in hand. A cold breeze blew, gently shaking the leaves and branches from the trees that lined the campus.

Outside the gates, a luxurious looking Prevost RV remained parked as the two people on it had temporarily alighted from their vehicle to check out the establishment. The older looking male was in a white suit and tie, happily finishing a Salem he had lit earlier. Beside him, a younger looking female leaned her back on the vehicle's walls, gazing straight through the school's gates.

"So, you really believe we'll find that hacker here?" The younger female asked, her eyes scanning what was visible of the academy from where she was standing.

"Most likely, according to what I was able to dig up." The older male sighed, throwing away the cancer stick and stomping it on the ground. "If not, then the two people who encountered this hacker are also studying in this school. We'll be able to squeeze out more information from them."

"I suppose. Has Holy Dragon made a statement yet?"

"Aside from what they have said on the news, none. We don't know why someone would try to hack into an automobile retailer of all places just yet."

"Hah! Must've really wanted some wheels to drive around in then, I reckon?" The younger female giggled as she asked.

"Yeah, maybe. Unless it's for a whole different reason." The older male glanced at his companion. "Maybe because of something's that happened in the past even."

"Probably."

"Holy Dragon's got some bad press back in the day when something went awry in an EXPO they were hosting. Perhaps this hit was by someone inconvenienced by that incident?"

"Could've been completely random too you know?"

"Or my guess could be right on the money."

"Hell, how would I know? You're the genius here—Samurai Boy." The woman digs out the man's old nickname; a gesture that made her older companion smile a little.

"Never really knew why it never stuck for long. The name that is." The obviously older, Yajima Nils chuckled, recalling his Gunpla Fighter days.

"Well—you kind of quit remember?" The younger female beside him reminded him, as she combed her fingers through her long, black hair. "Then you started to help with administrative affairs under Yajima until you're well—this old geezer here."

"Well, we all grow old someday." Nils just sighed as she re-read a report on his mobile. "My glory days have passed. Now's the time for others to take over."

"You mean like you passing your assignments on to me?"

"That's well—a little different." Nils chuckled. "I'm not exactly in any position to move right now. Not when the matter is this complex."

"Yeah. Bet that old company won't stop grilling you when they find out it was because you didn't want to work alongside them that you chose not to work with them in finding this…thorn."

"Probably wouldn't hear the end of it even. Don't want to get even the missus involved now do I?" Nils shot the girl a sly look, causing her to just turn away.

"Hmph! Selfish prick."

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see. I'm not as spry as I used to be back in the day so I'll need you to do my legwork for me." The man just laughed as he passed the girl, giving her a light tap on the shoulder as he headed back inside. "Don't worry. I promised to keep a close eye out for you."

"Yeah, whatever you say. You owe me big this time, Yajima-san." As she was about to follow, she noticed the discarded cigarette butt lying on the sidewalk of the school. Grinning, she picked it up and summarily tossed it on the roof of the RV. She made a mental note of talking to him about the bad habit but decided against it upon seeing him already starting on one of the many Gundam models sitting around in the "workshop area" of the vehicle.

"Oh right, I forgot to ask—" Nils turned to his female companion. "—which one of these do you prefer to use in your uh…job?" He asked, referring to the small pile of kits sitting around. The girl gave them all a cursory glance before picking up an HGUC Delta Gundam from the pile. Seeing this choice, Nils just scratched his head.

"Seriously? You haven't used a variable in months, why start now?" He asked though he immediately dug through the box to find the kit's manual.

"Yeah. I like the gold on this one. Anyway, I'll be doing your legwork for you so you can at least manage building me this right? Always wanted to cruise around in a Ferrari. If I'm in PLANET…well, this is good enough to be its equivalent." The girl flashes him a smile as she sat down on the couch she used as a bed in the RV.

"Well…this is going to be a tall order."

"Well, you left me a very difficult assignment. Oh, fully-transformable please? Lunging around in a parts-former would seriously cramp my style." The girl just winked at him as she threw her body on the covers.

"Style? Seriously?" Nils just sighed as he started on the model. Glancing back at the girl, she seems to have busied herself watching nonsense movies on TV, leaving him alone with his tools and her requested Gunpla. He reckoned she'll fall asleep shortly after. Like she always does.

"Asking me to make her a fully transformable model she'll probably trash in a week…Heh, women sure are extortionists." Sighing, he just concentrated on building the model. It was easy once he got started. Took him back to the time when he first built his Gunpla when he was younger.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Small intermissions chapter. Also decided to integrate someone from canon this time around. The next chapter would be on the way soon so until then, I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**

 **Update (10/28/2017): Edited a sentence mistake. If anybody catches some of it(wonky sentences, paragraphs etc.), I'd appreciate if you can inform me immediately through the review or PM. Many thanks~**


	6. Chapter 5 - Trojan Horses

**(Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam franchise. Credits goes to Bandai/Sunrise and their staff for making this wonderful mecha franchise.)**

 **Gundam Build Fighters – Cyber Era**

 **Chapter 5 – Trojan Horses**

* * *

 _Suzuran High School_

"Good morning!"

School term resumes for Suzuran High School—a rather simple high school in Castle City which is better known for producing science-based scholars. Its campus has lots of trees and shrubs and just behind the main building is a large orchard managed by the school's Agriculture Club. The buildings all have a rustic looking paintjob, giving the whole school a fresh and simple country air.

The returning students were all merrily catching up with friends, asking how their vacation went, what they've been up to, the latest rumors etc. For now, no one made much mention of more…current affairs such as the recent break-in on Holy Dragon's home server. However, the incident at the Central Hub did worm its way into some of their conversations as a passing topic.

Just by the gates, a fidgety young man stood out awkwardly among the returning students past the gates. Typical school bag, uniform adhering strictly to the school's dress code and nicely polished shoes. He stood out like a deer in headlights among the more laid-back old timers, straightening his tie as he took in a deep breath.

"Well—here it goes. My first day." Muttering to himself, he awkwardly strode down the path leading to the main building, ignoring the weird looks he suddenly got from the other students.

* * *

"All set to go on my end. Haha! I'm willing to bet you're quite thrilled with the prospect eh, my lovely assistant?"

Inside the RV, Nils brought up an intricate setup of communication devices and hooked it up to his laptop, all the while teasing the young woman organizing some things in a messenger bag.

"Shut up! I swear if I didn't have my hands full—!" The woman growled, raising a balled-up fist at the aging Gunpla genius.

"Oh? I thought you agreed with the plan?"

"But I didn't agree to the teasing."

"Fair enough." Sighing, Nils walked over to her and handed her a small earpiece disguised as a pair of earrings. "These are very sensitive pieces. However, try not to rely on it often. You wouldn't want people thinking you're some kind of loony now, would you?"

Wordlessly, the girl took the devices and put them on, checking herself out in a mirror in the RV. When she was done, Nils handed her a small, sturdy black box with her requested machine inside.

"Here's the Delta Gundam. Do not oversteer with it and don't flaunt it around. Official business only, understand?" Nils temporarily dropped his friendlier air in order to issue those stern instructions.

"Roger." The girl nodded in affirmative, taking the box and keeping it in a dedicated slot in her bag.

"Good." Hearing that, Nils' expression loosened a bit as he smiled. "Relax, I'm sure you can get in just fine. Hey, you might even like it!"

"Geez, I'm not that nervous. Besides—" The woman assured him as she slings on her bag and headed down the doors of the vehicle to alight. "—it hasn't been that long since I left school~"

With a wink and a smile, the young woman alighted from the RV—dressed up as a female Suzuran High student with the gray blazer, black skirt and the white blouse all the other girls wore. She had her long black hair up in a ponytail plus a couple of orange clips to break up the monotony of the uniform.

"Who's that?" She heard some of the boys whisper among themselves as she passed, throwing a couple of glances at her. Nils witnessed all this from the RV's window.

"What a natural…Heh, maybe if I was ten years younger…" He murmured as he got back to the communications array he had set up, making sure all the drapes were down.

" _Hey! I heard that!"_ A woman's voice spoke up on the other end, sounding a little annoyed at his remark.

"Yeah, my bad. Sorry." Nils chuckled as he sat down on the soft stool he used as a makeshift office chair. "Anyway, our Trojan Horse is in the premises. Kousaka will notify us once she has made contact with Takamine. Hope it won't be too hard."

" _You're right. Think we've successfully fooled them though? Driving around in an RV doesn't seem to be the most low-key of rides you normally go cruising around in."_

"Well, pardon me my indulgences. But on a reverse note, as long as they think Yajima is the kind of company they think it is, they may be more on the lookout for normal vehicles and stuff. If you think about it that way, cruising around in an RV is the least they'll expect from an Enforcer!" Nils chuckled as he explained.

" _Or…you just wanted the little workstation in that RV for you to build your kits, don't you?"_ The woman on the other end giggled.

"You got me." Nils just sighed and turned to some of the other boxes he has bought. "Guess I can't truly stay away from it too long."

" _You've changed a lot, Nils. Was it Iori-kun who spurred this in you?"_

"Perhaps. Or maybe it was the feisty little lady who suddenly declared she wanted to run Gunpla Battle with PPSE's absence. Really—how could I possibly leave such an important scientific breakthrough to a live wire like that." Nils teases the woman on the other end. "Gotta tie that wire down somehow you know?"

" _You mean like with a ring?"_

"Yeah. Perhaps."

" _Hey! I can hear both of you through these devices you know?"_ The younger woman from earlier, Kousaka, butts in the little chat. _"Husband and wife needs to be subtle; otherwise the new generation may emulate bad models."_

"Ah, right. Damn, did you hear what I just said earlier?" Nils laughed.

" _Yeah. HD audio baby."_

" _Remind me to punish him when you guys get back Kousaka-chan. I'm sure the Think Tank is more than thrilled to have him back in the lab!"_

" _Yes Mrs. Yajima."_

"Hey, I'm still enjoying my days in the field!" Nils chuckled as he brought up the various images of the intruding Gunpla that he managed to compile, his expression turning a little more serious. "What do you think Caroline?"

" _Hmm…I can't really tell, sorry. My knowledge of Gunpla and Gundam is too basic. Plus, it's wearing some kind of cloak."_ Caroline Yajima explained through the speaker earlier.

"Noticed that too? Yeah and I bet whatever technique or system it used to tear that hole in the Central Hub from the Zone is hidden there. Here—" Nils zoomed in on some hump near the rear of the Gunpla, just before the neck. "Looks more like a hidden backpack don't you think?"

" _Whoah! My guess was right on the money! Good! Now take him down—"_

" _We haven't even found him yet!"_

"— _when you find him and his fighter. You didn't let me finish, Kousaka-chan."_

"Anyway, mission's all riding on your legs Kousaka. Try to avoid interacting with Holy Dragon. The way they refuse Enforcer's security services seems a little sketchy to me." Nils added something else to consider.

" _That scenario seems unlikely but yeah, I'll keep two eyes out. As long as I can spare them."_ Kousaka assured the two one last time before joining the other students for the general orientation, temporarily cutting contact from the two.

" _And now we wait…"_ Caroline sighed from the other end.

"And now we wait…"

* * *

At the sixth floor of the club building, at the first room sighted upon climbing the last flight of stairs was the club room of the Model Kits Guild. While this club isn't as big as the school's Agricultural and Sports clubs, it does have its own cast of quirky individuals.

Inside the club tidying up was a tall and rather slim young man with silver hair that almost reached his shoulders. Viewed from the back, he could almost pass as a female due to his looks if not for the distinct male uniform he of course, wore when in campus. He was cleaning up the club room, dusting off the display shelves that held their completed projects. A blonde young man walks up to the room just as he was finishing up with the spring cleaning.

"Hisoka!" The newcomer called, leaning his arm right by the doorway. "Orientation's almost over. Homeroom's starting soon so we better get our asses back to the room."

"Alright." The lanky male replied in a surprisingly deeper voice than one would usually expect from someone who looked like him. "Just need to lock the room up."

Walking down the halls, the two talked about the usual things like how their vacation went or if there were any particular changes in the school while they were gone. Not surprisingly, the conversation of course shifted to possible new classmates.

"Heard we'll be getting a couple of new faces this year." Hisoka muttered as he walked down with his hands in his pockets.

"Three. Just talked with Fushimi. They've got a new face too." Kyouhei clarified.

"Wow. Not really too surprising though."

"Yeah but think about it. We're primarily an agricultural school. You have to wonder what they saw here that was so enticing."

"Uh huh. Yeah, that's weird." Hisoka glanced at a classroom they passed. "Anyway, how's our Expo materials going?"

"To be honest…" Kyouhei sighed, warning Hisoka of a bit of bad news. "Not so hot. I ran into some problems building the A Baoa Qu diorama. Had to re-do everything from scratch so—"

"Hey, it's fine. I just wanted to finish before exams come along."

"Heh, faculty sure can't get enough of them exams, can't they?"

"Yeah. Then again, what's this school if not for their difficult exams am I right?" Hisoka chuckled.

"Yeah, maybe. We do have an Artistic Gunpla Grand Prix winner here though. Makes you wonder why we aren't getting more funds." Kyouhei pats his friend's back.

"Won that contest while on summer break. Doesn't technically count."

"Figures."

Just as the two boys neared their classroom, they were greeted by a familiar face and black twintails billowing behind her back.

"What's up guys." Nagisa greeted both.

"S'up."

"Nothing much."

"You guys don't look too hot. Did something happen?" She asks the two.

"Kyouhei ran into a speed bump in the project but other than that, everything's fine…I think?" Hisoka reported while tilting his head—something Nagisa interpreted as an inquiry as to their progress.

"Oh! Right. Well…me and Kanade are making steady progress with our models and dioramas. I'd say we're around…70% done."

"Great. The models don't need to be too elaborate okay? Keyword is anime-accurate." Hisoka reminds Nagisa.

"Yeah, don't worry. I didn't go overboard."

"Well we're not worried about you." Kyouhei assures her while leaning to the left to catch someone walking towards them. "We're worried about her."

Hisoka and Nagisa turns around and Kanade immediately walks up to them, carrying a glass case with a weathered HG Forbidden Gundam. "Hey scrubs, what's up?"

"Just…talking—hey, is that the Forbidden for the Expo?" Hisoka asked, checking out the weathering work done on the kit.

"Hell yeah! Stayed up all night perfecting the details!" Kanade boasted though she immediately calmed down upon seeing the doubtful looks on her friend's faces. "Umm…you guys are looking at it like something's screwed up."

"Not really but—doesn't the Forbidden usually fight near the water?" Hisoka asked. "Just asking since you used sand-colored pastels."

"Did I?" Kanade raised the case to check. "Well, we can always position it closer to the beachside then haha!"

"Pretty sure Orb had these metal panels on the floor instead of sand though."

"Or maybe you're just remembering wrong."

"Whatever." Hisoka just sighed. "It's good. Let's just work something out." As the three were about to part ways, a teacher walked up to them, leading an unfamiliar female student with him. She had long black hair in a ponytail and blue eyes. She also looked somewhat older than them—and it wasn't just because of how she was taller than either Nagisa or Kanade. Perhaps she's a late starter?

"Ahem. I believe we are about to start homeroom?" The teacher asks them, giving them all a suspicious look.

"Sorry. Just discussing stuff for the Expo." Nagisa explained.

"Ah! Right. Well, class is about to start so Makinami, if you please?" The teacher motioned for Nagisa to head inside their room with his arm.

"Yes sir."

"Expo huh? Didn't know you guys were in on it." The girl suddenly blurted out, catching the attention of the people in the hall with her.

"Ah, yes. Our school's Gunpla club is regularly called on to help out with official local events like that." The homeroom teacher was quick to explain. "We're not as big on Gunpla as the other schools like Seiho but we do have our fair share of talents. Why Hisoka here even managed to win an Artistic Gunpla Grand Prix if I remember correctly." He points at the lanky white-haired male.

"Yeah. Last summer break." Hisoka clarified with emphasis on "break". He normally would've let it slide but the way the teacher was explaining it was making it look like the school wanted to take credit for supposedly 'helping' him achieve the champion trophy.

"I see. Must've been a challenge then huh? Getting by on your own." The young woman winked at him, hinting that she's aware of his circumstances right now—as if connected by a single train of thought. Hisoka just smiled.

"Hope you do a great job at the Expo then. Kousaka Rui. I'm transferring in 2-A so…nice to meet you!" Kousaka introduces herself and extends a hand to the Model Kits Club president.

"Shirabuki Hisoka. Likewise." Hisoka took her hand in his and shook it. "From 2-B, just beside your room."

"And I'm Nakajima Kyouhei…also from 2-B." Kyouhei introduces himself as well though less enthusiastic than his friend.

"Makinami Nagisa—from 2-A." Nagisa also introduces herself to the newcomer. "So I guess we'll be spending some time together then?"

"Seems like it." Kousaka just nodded before turning to the blonde with the Forbidden Gundam. "And may I have your name?"

"Me? Why, I'm here to tell you—I'm only the upcoming successor for the title of 'Meijin'. Takamine Kanade's the name." Kanade introduces herself as always, in her usual cocky air. Upon hearing that, Kousaka's eyes just turned to her. She had gotten a lead.

"Forgive her. She can be pretty wild and delusional." Nagisa immediately speaks up for Kanade's behalf; something the latter didn't take too nicely with.

"Hey, since when do you get off on calling people delusional?" Kanade confronts her black-haired cousin.

"Just stating the facts."

"Hmm…maybe." Kousaka leaned in closer to check out the infamous amphibious Gundam from Gundam SEED. "Then again, the build's actually quite awesome with all the updated joints. Just keep at it girl~" She pats Kanade, making the latter blush a little.

"Gee…thanks." Kanade replied, trying hard not to show how flattered she was.

"Anyway, homeroom. I'll see you guys later." Nagisa reminded them and headed back to her own room, followed closely by Kousaka.

"Yeah, see you cuz. See ya Kousaka-san!" Kanade called out before Hisoka and Kyouhei dragged her back inside to their own classroom, seeing their own homeroom teacher approaching from the halls.

* * *

 _Suzuran High School – Classroom 2-B_

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce two new friends today." 2-B's homeroom teacher announced, motioning for a rather average looking white-haired boy to come in and introduce himself.

"Good morning! My name's Kobayashi. Tetsuya Kobayashi but, you can just call me Tetsuya! I transferred here from Tsukumo East since my parents transferred work places. It's nice to meet all of you!" The young man greeted in a rather energetic manner and a big smile, making some of the girls in the class smile.

"He sure sounds happy to be here." Kyouhei noted. "Wonder why he'd leave a good school like Tsukumo though?"

"Because his parents moved and I believe not everyone can handle long commutes to and fro Kyouhei—I mean, he already said so himself." Hisoka reasoned though he also found it a bit odd. "What do you think?" He asked Kanade who was only sitting in front of him.

"Beats me. Looks like your usual normie scrub from my point of view." Kanade just sighed as the new guy takes his seat while their teacher calls in the next student. "This next one—I know all about."

"Really?" Hisoka just shrugged as the next student, a young girl with shoulder length brown hair and green eyes entered the room with an unsure smile.

"Umm…my name is Saihara. Saihara Aya. I uhh…came here from Osaka also because my dad was transferred. And uhh…I really like this city! Nice to meet you!" Aya introduces herself, feeling a little anxious.

"Hear this: She's Yoite's cousin." Kanade informs the two boys.

"Wow. You'd think Arakaki-senpai would give us a heads-up if his kid cousin's coming over to our town." Kyouhei chuckled.

"Then again, he can be a bit clumsy sometimes. Sometimes."

Kanade smiled at Aya as she walked towards her assigned seat which is fortunately, right next to Kanade's by the window, putting her beside a wall and in front of Kyouhei.

"Hehe, this is going to be an interesting year." Hisoka smiled as homeroom starts.

* * *

Come lunch time, most of the class was, of course, gathered around the two new kids though Kanade's friends were mostly the ones gathered around Aya. Most of them, particularly the girls, were on Tetsuya's side while the rest…just didn't care that much.

"Hey, Scrub No.2! How you holding up today?" Kanade asked, tossing Aya a _yakisoba_ bread on her table.

"I'm okay. Most of the people here are nice." Aya smiled, thanking Kanade for the snack.

"Yeah. You can count on this school being squeaky clean. The true shady stuff happens outside—if you're looking for it~" Hisoka teased, somehow surprising Aya. Seeing her startled expression, he asked. "Oh uh…did that come out wrong?"

"Not really but…" Aya let out an awkward laugh. "Your voice…when I saw you earlier I thought…"

"Huh? Oh, right haha!" Hisoka laughed as well, realizing his appearance must've caught her by surprise. "Yeah, I get that a lot. Don't worry."

"Yeah, skinny guy here's pretty much a trap at this point!" Kanade cackled. "All he needs is some push-up bras and a skirt!"

"And a voice changer so don't push it Kanade."

"Hahaha! Why don't you try it? You never had a girlfriend in your life who knows? Maybe you'd be luckier if you started looking for 'boyfriends' instead!"

"Hey, I resent that. Anyway—" Hisoka clears his throat and turns to Aya. "Shirabuki Hisoka. Your classmate and the president of this school's Model Kits Club. Nice to meet you~"

"Hmm…so you build Gunpla too?" Aya asked after hearing about the club he runs.

"Yeah. This guy even won an Artistic Gunpla Grand Prix once! Of course, only because I didn't enter hahaha!" Kanade boasted.

"Totally not true by the way—since she did enter." Kyouhei, who was sitting just behind her clarified, catching Aya's attention. "I'm Nakajima Kyouhei. Also from the Model Kits Club."

"Nice to meet you too!" Aya replied with a big smile.

"Since you asked—do you build Gunpla too Saihara-chan?" Hisoka asked brushing aside a lock of silver hair that fell on his face.

"Well, I just started…" Aya replied sheepishly. "And you can call me Aya if you want~"

"She's being modest. In fact, she helped me kick ass a week ago back at the shop when some trouble customers picked a fight with us!" Kanade recalled the incident. "We've already got a custom machine brewing all this time too. Speaking of which—I don't think I've seen what it now looks like so…did you bring it Scrub No.2?"

"Yep!" Aya proudly exclaimed as she dug into her bag, looking for her custom Gunpla. "It's not one hundred percent complete yet but—TA-DA~" She exclaimed as she took the model out of her bag and placed it on the table.

The custom Gundam built from the HGUC Gundam Ground type stood in all its glory. All the redesigned parts make it resemble a cross between a Pale Rider and a Ground Type with several new thruster and armor parts on the kit—particularly the limbs. On the backpack was a sub-arm contraption carrying what looked like the Ground Type's 180mm Cannon and a solid, single-blade axe. For defense, it was armed with a spiked shield that could also be used to bludgeon opponents and a modified version of the Ground Type's machine gun with a longer barrel and scope parts.

What stood out to Kanade in particular, was the color scheme. It was mostly monochrome with a light grey and dark grey. However, it did have an abundance of red trims on most of the additional armor parts. Even the interior of the thrusters was done in metallic red.

"Here it is! I call it the Red Rider. Mainly cause it's red!" Aya introduces her machine to the others, smiling and looking rather proud of herself.

"The Ground Type huh? Great choice~" Kyouhei grinned, complimenting the new modeler.

"You say this is your first custom Gunpla right?" Hisoka asked, checking out the custom build in front of him. "I have to say, it's well built."

"Well…I got a lot of help from Kanade-san and Nagisa-san. Wouldn't have made it this far otherwise." Aya sheepishly admitted.

"Hah! Seeing that you have time to help Aya-chan out with her customs means you must be making good progress—" Relieved, Hisoka turns to compliment Kanade only to see her staring at Aya's model with her typical discerning look. "What's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. Umm…hey, Scrub No.2?" Kanade snaps back to the conversation to ask Aya. "What were you thinking using red? Just curious."

"Nagisa-san said that if I paint my Gundam red then it'll go three times faster!" Aya replied with much enthusiasm, making all three of the club members laugh.

"It's…really just an in-lore reference Aya. Just a throwback to Char, The Red Comet." Hisoka explained.

"Eh?" Aya looked rather surprised.

"Nagisa's just messing with you." Kanade added. "Hell! She even duped me into thinking that if I paint my SEED-based Gundam with just primer then I can trigger Phase Shift Armor!"

"Umm…you guys are…Gunpla Builders?" The voice of a young man caught their attention and they immediately turned to see the other new student Tetsuya headed towards them.

"Well, the rest of us are from the Model Kits Club. Aya-chan here's a builder but not exactly part of our club—yet." Hisoka explained, glancing back at Aya. Tetsuya just nodded and turned his attention to the Gundam model.

"Wow! This is really well made! Hmm…I think you used too many after-market and dress up parts though. Some of those cheap ones aren't really any good." Tetsuya muttered as he gave the model a good look from head to toe. "The paintjob is great though. I can barely tell apart the after-market parts. Normally, some are so lame that they stick out like a sore thumb."

"Umm…" Aya just tapped him on the shoulders while pointing at a certain someone in the room.

"Huh? Did I say something?" Tetsuya glanced up and immediately looked at the direction Aya was pointing at:

Kanade was there, giving him a very peculiar look while she had her arms crossed, her toes tapping on the classroom floor.

"Takamine-san right? I'm Kobayashi Tetsuya and uhh…did I say something?" In the middle of introducing himself, Tetsuya backs up upon seeing the rather annoyed look on the girl's face.

"Huh? Oh nothing. I totally didn't hear anyone comparing my originally designed parts with cheap recasts or anything!" Kanade just grunted smugly as she turned her head away.

"Here we go again…" Both Hisoka and Kyouhei just mumbled under their breath.

"Originally designed parts? Recasts? I don't really get what you're saying…" Tetsuya wondered until it just clicked in his head. "Waahh! You made those parts?! From scratch?!"

"Hm!" Kanade kept her stern, annoyed expression though she did puff her chest out of pride for her work.

"That's actually kind of cool." Tetsuya complimented her before immediately digging through his bag. "However, I do have this!" Taking out a model from his bag, he proudly placed it on the table beside Aya's custom machine. It was a High Grade Windam, nicely painted to match the one used by Neo in SEED Destiny. It almost looked like a simple, clean, painted built without much modification.

Catch is, there never was a High Grade Windam.

"I loved this design when I saw it on TV…even if all it did was get blown up by the main Mobile Suits. So I thought, why not make one for myself?" Tetsuya explained as the others checked out his work.

"Amazing. You're good at sculpting parts if I may say so." Hisoka complimented the piece.

"Heh, thanks!" Tetsuya laughed, sheepishly.

"Hm!" Again, Kanade just kept cold and quiet. "The Windam ain't the most difficult thing to build in the market though."

"I know. However, while I did borrow stuff from the existing Strike Frame, I did have to carve and sculpt the armor by myself. Much more challenging than just making add-ons in my honest opinion." Tetsuya retorted though he did keep his smile as he admired the two kits side-by-side.

"Hey! Making add-ons isn't always easy either—since you have to find a way to make it work with a huge variety of kits!" Kanade retorted.

"You can just make a part to serve as the matrix, make a mold and use resin. Not like projects like this." Tetsuya also countered back. "Making something like this is more interesting than just making parts right?"

"Hah! I've also made other things!" Kanade was getting into a defensive tone. "What makes you think those parts are the only 'original' thing I've built?"

"Really? May I ask what those are?" Tetsuya asked, almost sounding like a challenge.

"I think we need to step in man." Kyouhei suggested.

"Nah, let them sort this out themselves." Hisoka shook his head.

"I've scratch built a Master Grade Calamity!" Kanade boasted.

"Wow, that's amazing. You know what they say though…pics or nothing." Tetsuya continues teasing.

"You—!"

"Hey, hey! Settle down." Hisoka finally intervenes. "Whatever you've done, you both look like good Gunpla builders. So—" He glances at both Aya and Tetsuya. "Would you perhaps be interested in joining the Model Kits Club?"

"I'd love to!" Aya raises her hand energetically.

"Ahaha, well…I'd normally love to but I have some obligations to attend to after classes." Tetsuya just sighed as he picks his model up. "I don't think I'm up to joining clubs while I get some things sorted back home for a while."

"Aww…too bad. Your Windam looks great!" Aya complimented him with a smile.

"Gee…thanks. Yours too."

"Says the guy who said my parts suck…" Kanade muttered through clenched teeth.

* * *

 _Suzuran High School - Rooftop_

Among the people who opted to eat outside for lunch was the other new girl, Kousaka Rui. Granted people hang out at rooftops all the time so she wasn't exactly alone around the area. No one really paid much attention to her though—all of them were engaged in each other's worlds to care. She was looking down over the rails, watching a lower section hold a P.E. class below when her phone suddenly vibrated in her pocket. She immediately picked it up, knowing it could only be from one person.

"Hey." Kousaka greeted, gobbling down what remained of her sandwich. "Didn't want to use your new gizmos?"

" _Nah. HD audio means I can pick up other sounds on your end. Didn't really like all the teenage drama in high school."_ Nils spoke up from the other end.

"You tell me. Speaking of which—" Kousaka looked over to her back to see a girl and a boy talking. The girl appeared to be in the brink of tears while the boy looked very apologetic. "—I think some drama's about to unfold. Want to eavesdrop?"

" _Haha! If I wanted to do that I would've called you with my gizmos. You'd risk looking like a lunatic though."_

"And I lose my cover if I try to explain myself."

" _You know I didn't really have a proper 'high school' experience, right? Studying advanced science in a high-tech lab doesn't really count in my opinion."_

"I don't know. Didn't you mess around with your peers—trying out stuff, making solutions explode?"

" _Nope. Lived a very model student life. Well, apart from dabbling in the 7_ _th_ _World Tournament and looking too much into the Plavsky Particle."_

"Nerd." Kousaka chuckled. "Anyway, I managed to meet Takamine-chan. Couldn't get a chance to ask her since her friends were around. Doesn't help that we're put in different sections."

" _I see. Well good call considering that the 'Thorn' may still be a student from this school. It's probably a low chance but—"_

"Yeah, got it." Kousaka assures her employer as she looked up to see a plane passing by above. "I'll try again later."

" _Thanks. Anyway, how does it feel being a high school student again?"_ Nils asked. Kousaka reckoned that if they were talking face to face, she would've seen his typical grin plastered on his face already.

"It's not bad I guess. Technically, I'm still fresh out of high school so I can blend in just fine." Kousaka looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping on them. "Not to brag but I do have the social skills needed to stay afloat in this arena."

" _Good for you then. Well? Made anyone jealous yet? I saw a bunch of guys checking you out when you walked in. I can imagine that might've ruffled a few feathers."_

"I don't know. A girl tried to put a tack on my chair when I used the john so there's that. Fortunately, someone warned me on time, saving my ass the trouble."

" _Ooohh…that sounds mean."_

"Why? Didn't you have that in your 'high-tech' laboratory of a school? Hehe, I've suffered worse than that in 'my' high school years Yajima-san."

" _I remember of course. You are from—"_

"WHAT?! What do you mean you're out?!" The conversation between the two Enforcers were interrupted when Kousaka overheard a voice yelling by the stairwell, fuming with anger.

" _Like I said…drama. Gets pretty old."_

"Yeah…listen, I'll call back when I get more leads."

" _Got it. Good luck Kousaka."_

After Nils cut off, Kousaka immediately hid her phone and descended down, just so she could see what the commotion was all about. Leaning over the rails, she could see around four girls from her assigned section gathered around another girl by the landing. She recognized the girl they seem to be cornering as the one who informed her of the tack left at her chair. Neck-length blonde hair and slim frame. Really did look like the type who gets bullied a lot—if not for her expression which seemed a little too calm for someone in her situation.

" _Well this might be interesting…"_ Crouching, Kousaka kept low as to not alert the girls in their natural habitat.

"You heard me." The cornered blonde spoke back, looking a bit irritated at the three other girls gathered around her. "If it really matters to you, go do it yourselves!"

"Damn it, Namatame!" The girl right at the center led the string of tirades against the blonde girl, pointing an accusing finger at her. "And exactly a few days before our scrimmage with Tsukumo! I mean, why?! I don't understand you!"

"Hey! I'm not some accessory you can take on and off at a drop of a hat!" The cornered girl retorted, angering the other three a bit more. "It's your scrimmage! Why don't you actually try building your own models for once?! Stop expecting me to come up with strong builds for you to gloat on others…"

"We had a deal Hakuno!" The girl leading the interrogation flared up, cheeks flushing a little red from the sudden surge of anger she felt. "Besides, it's not like you don't get anything when we win!"

"Yeah, yeah. I get to sit at your table. Big deal!" The blonde just scoffed.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" The girl now changes tone from angry to disappointed and confused. "You used to ride with us just fine."

"Tch!" The blonde sharply turns away. "Who'd want to hang with a bunch of kids who get their kicks from picking on transfers?"

"It was just a joke! Besides, what good would it do you to take that transfer's side? Not like they'll have you in their good graces afterwards. Besides, sluts like her probably just came to this school to score some younger boys—I mean, have you actually seen her? She looks a little too old to be in this school Hakuno!"

"That's a strange theory. I thought she came here for the good curriculum. Unlike you Fuuka, some people actually do come here to get an education."

" _Well…neither of those are true actually…"_ Kousaka just sighed as she listened in. _"Wait—did that girl just seriously call me a slut?"_

"What?!" The girl Fuuka immediately flared up with anger again. "Big talk considering we're both in 2-A! It's not as if you're that smarter than me!"

"Then why resort to petty stuff Fuuka? Why ask me to build models for you?" The blonde sighs, her tone of voice sounding a little tired. "It's like you only keep me around for that purpose…"

"And where do you think you'd be if I hadn't been around?" Fuuka retorted. "You think anyone would want to be friends with you with that kind of attitude?!"

"Yeah. I build your models and I get to sit in your little table listening to your stupid chatter. You hog all the glory like it's all your own doing! What kind of friendship is that?"

"Oh, I get it! It's the fame, isn't it? Excuse me but it's Gunpla Battle for a reason! Last time I checked, no one was walking up to me asking "Hey, who built your model?" so don't you go blaming this on me!" Fuuka slams her hand on the locker behind the blonde girl. "You want your time in the spotlight? Then get out there and prove it! Prove you're better than us!"

The blonde just took a deep breath before looking up to glare at Fuuka. "You really have no idea, do you?"

"Yeah, I don't. So why don't you tell me?"

"Tch! Forget it. Clearly you're too wrapped up in your perfect little world to notice it." As she was about to shove the three standing in the way, Fuuka immediately grabbed the blonde girl by the shoulder and practically shoved her back to the locker. Realizing things may get a bit more physical than it seemed, Kousaka decides to come out of hiding and promptly walked up to them.

"Hey!" She greeted casually, immediately calming both parties down. "Uhh…you're kind of in the way you know?"

"Tch!" The three girls backed off upon seeing the older girl. Clearing their throats, they turned back to the stairwell and started walking away. "We're not finished Hakuno! Damn it! I hope the Reaper gets you!"

" _Reaper?"_ Kousaka wondered upon hearing the word. She's heard her fair share of words used to cuss girls in her time but never one that invoked the death angel. Still, she didn't dwell on it too much.

"Heard everything by the way. Man, sure was nasty! So…are you alright?" Kousaka asked the blonde who was apparently called Namatame Hakuno. "Sorry if I couldn't interfere in time. I—"

The blonde however just gave her a small glare. "I didn't need your help." She muttered before walking away, descending down the stairs with light yet sharp footsteps.

"Bitch."

* * *

 _Suzuran High School - Model Kits Guild Clubroom_

Students generally hold their club activities after classes on the sixth floor, where most of the clubrooms are located. The Model Kits Club's room is the first door upon reaching the top of the stairs and the room itself is quite spacious—at least big enough to accommodate a spray booth, a bunch of display cases and even a sofa and TV. Upon entering the door, one is immediately greeted by a single hexagon battle projector. The tables they use for building are just past it.

Aya's attention was immediately captured by the array of different kits lined up on the work table.

"Well…It's not much. But this is our hangout." Hisoka shows Aya around the place.

"I think it's brilliant~" Aya smiled as she checked out the builds. In the room were a few other people. A beautiful and bespectacled blue-haired girl was busy working on something in a laptop—which was surprising considering she was sharing the table with tools and kits. To her left, near the edge of the table was a young man with rather messy black hair fiddling around with…a jet fighter model? Aya couldn't exactly tell. Beside him was a younger looking girl with purple hair and a distinct hat with cat ears, sleeping on the table.

"Hey, everyone!" Hisoka called out to these people as Aya followed after him.

"Oh, Prez!" The black-haired male greeted, shaking the sleeping girl awake. "Misaka—wake up."

"Oh, this is a new face." The blue-haired girl noted as she looked up from her laptop. "New recruit?"

"Yep!" Hisoka nodded as he stepped forward to introduce the new girl. "Aya Saihara from 2-B. She's a transfer to our class and she said she wants to join the Club!"

"Nice to meet you~" Aya greeted though she admittedly felt a little shy since they all seemed familiar with each other.

The black-haired male was the first to speak up. "S'up! My name is Koga Nakamura from 2-C! Nice to meet you homie!" He introduced himself with much enthusiasm, giving off a very friendly, athletic vibe. "I build Gunpla but mostly to enter in rallies than battles."

"Rallies?" Aya asked.

"Oh, it's basically a race with obstacles and stuff. It's mostly a challenge of building the fastest Gunpla instead of the strongest one with its own ruleset." Koga explained.

"Sounds fun!"

"Right? Some people look down on it a little though. Still, it's a whole different way to enjoy Gunpla so why don't you try it sometime?"

"Sure!"

"Cool. Oh—" Having finished introducing himself, Koga turns to the sleepy lady beside him and lightly shook her by the shoulder until she woke up. "Misaka—we have a new member. At least introduce yourself!"

The sleepy girl gave Aya a good look from head to toe before grinning. "A new face huh? Hello! I'm Misaka Amamiya from 2-C… Nice to meet you…" In contrast to Koga's energetic air, Misaka was rather laid-back. And by laid-back, it meant sleepy. She spoke slowly, like someone who wasn't fully awake yet.

"Misaka-chan…My name's Aya!" Nonetheless, Aya proceeded to introduce herself to the sleepyhead.

"Aya huh? Nice name…It's short and easy aahh…I'm still tired…" Misaka just gives her a weary wave and collapsed back on the table, tucking her head in her arms.

"Uuhhh…she just stayed up all night trying to finish the final adjustments on her model. She isn't always like this so don't worry!" Koga explained on the sleepyhead's behalf.

"She sure is…interesting." Aya noted. "Is she a racer too?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Koga confirmed. "Not as good as me though haha!"

"Shut up…! I can catch up to you just fine…!" Misaka suddenly spoke up, poking Koga's cheek with her finger.

"Ehehehe..."

"Okay, my turn~" The blue-haired, glasses-wearing girl now walked over to them next. Having stood up from her spot, Aya noted just how tall she was…almost reaching up to Hisoka. "Good afternoon! My name is Tsumugi Fushimi but you can just call me Mugi—everyone else does."

"Mugi-san…yep!" Aya nodded as she shook hands with the girl.

"Mugi here is the club's vice-president. If you have any concerns while I'm not around—feel free to ask her." Hisoka added.

"The catch is—" Tsumugi was just about to speak up when the door opened and a shorter, blonde-haired boy walked into the room, followed by Kanade carrying her little project with her.

"Tsumugi doesn't really build Gunpla." Kyouhei spoke up for her.

"E-eh?" Aya seemed surprised upon hearing it.

"Yep! Not trying to hide it at all. But—! Hisoka's statement still stands! You can still come to me for help—as long as it doesn't involve puttying, painting, scribing or any other assembly work!" Despite that detriment though, Tsumugi still looked rather proud of herself.

"I-I'll keep that in mind…thanks." Likewise, Aya just smiled, wondering. _"How is she the vice-president then?"_

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Tsumugi suddenly leaned closer to her, causing Aya to step back a little.

"U-uh, anything!"

"What's your favorite Gundam series?" Tsumugi was leaning closer now, making Aya a little uncomfortable.

"Umm…I haven't really watched any series yet…sorry…" Aya sheepishly admits, not wanting her potential new friends to find out she only wanted to get back at someone who she felt bullied her online.

"Then, you must absolutely see Gundam SEED first! Its story is stunning and the soundtrack is quite cool!"

Upon hearing this, Kyouhei scoffed catching both Hisoka's and Tsumugi's attention. Hisoka just sighed. He can see where this is going.

"Do we have a problem Nakajima-kun?" Tsumugi asked, pointing an accusing finger at the fierce looking shorter blonde.

"Well…SEED ain't exactly the most stellar series." Kyouhei smirked upon speaking. "Aya would be better off watching true masterpieces like say, Zeta!"

"Eeehhh? But Zeta's too outdated! I don't think Aya will like it anymore!" Tsumugi countered back.

"Wha—? On that topic, SEED's a pretty old series too!" Kyouhei counters back.

"SEED's animation can still hold its own, even with today's standards!"

"Well so can Zeta's!"

"Oh, I highly doubt that."

"You haven't even watched it! You have absolutely no basis in saying that!"

"Well you haven't watched SEED either! You're just parroting what you read on a bunch of forums!"

"Why you—!"

Watching the slightly heated discussion between the two was actually…rather amusing from Aya's perspective as she found himself giggling at their antics.

"Are they always like this?" Aya asks.

"Hm? No, not always." Hisoka explained. "Tsumugi's just a very big fan of Gundam SEED while Kyouhei well…he doesn't really watch anything that isn't UC."

"Oh."

"Well…they'll be at it until later once they get heated up." Hisoka just sighed. "So, liking our club so far?"

"Yep!" Aya nodded. "Everyone seems really nice and unique!"

"You forgot sleepy here." Koga immediately points at the sleeping Misaka.

"And sleepy~" Aya added. Hearing that, Misaka flashed Aya a thumbs up. "Umm…like I said, I haven't really watched any Gundam series…is it okay for me to be here?"

"Of course!" Kanade assured her while she fiddled around with the battle projector. "Don't worry! You do have that awesome custom Gundam with you!"

"And even if you didn't—" Hisoka sits down on the sofa. "I'd still let you in. In this club, the only requirement is that you love the series. And a willingness to learn."

"Sounds very noble." Aya praised Hisoka's way of thinking. "Well, I'll be in your care from now on. Hope to learn and have lots of fun with you guys!"

"Yeah!"

* * *

 _Later that evening…_

 _Neutral Zone – Field 05 City_

PLANET's time adapts to the actual time in the real world so at present, everything from the Central Hub down to the various spots within the Neutral Zone was shrouded in darkness. In this particular field, only the virtual moon provided any form of illumination, casting eerie shadows across the empty buildings and streets.

A couple of blinking lights moved around quietly along the streets. Three Gunpla had entered this field. A custom colored Geminass Unit-01 accompanied by two Dom Tropens. They were armed well for what appeared to be a simple stroll around the unconnected parts of PLANET. The Geminass kept low as it stayed in the center while both Doms kept a look out on their flanks, seemingly anticipating something.

"Hey?" One of the Doms called to the others. "Do you really think this 'Reaper' exists?" He asked, sounding a little nervous.

"Probably. I've been hearing lots of people complaining about someone attacking them while they explore. I've seen the broken Gunplas. Dude's definitely real." The other Dom answered back.

"Plus, I don't think that Asura will set us up for this if they aren't real." The Geminass added. "As for me, I'm kind of hoping they're real. Wouldn't be able to force the dude to pay up if they aren't."

"Are you sure you're not doing this because you want a bit of a challenge?"

"Heh! If I want a challenge, I would've entered a local Gunpla brawl!"

The three Mobile Suits soon reached a four-way intersection, barricaded by very tall buildings, easily surpassing them in height. Slowly, their huge metallic legs trudged on, sensors flicking as they checked every nook and cranny of the field.

"Not getting anything. Maybe, they're just not here tonight boss."

 _Tack!_

A sudden sharp sound alerted them and the two Doms immediately glanced around, checking for the source of the sound. The Geminass simply kept still and carefully looked around. It was able to pick up an image of a small piece of debris from one of the buildings by the Dom's feet. Probably broke off from one of the older looking structures around them.

"Sheesh! You worrywarts. It was just a piece of debris. Idiots!" The Geminass teases their two companions.

"R-really? Whew. For a second, I thought the 'Reaper' has arrived!"

 _Bam!_

Suddenly, a beam shot came soaring from a dark alley, taking out the mono-eye of a Dom. As the two turned to look at their damaged a companion, around two more shots followed, landing on the torso, effectively destroying the mono-eyed Mobile Suit.

"Scatter!" The Geminass commanded as the other Dom dashed to the alley where the shots came from.

"Where the hell are you?!" The Dom's fighter roared as his Mobile Suit hovered across the streets with the bazooka drawn, looking to get a shot into the mysterious attacker. The alleyway where the gunfire came from soon loomed into the view, causing the Dom to accelerate, hoping to at least catch a glimpse of the attacker before it moved. However, instead of their attacker, a long, metal pole extended from the alley and into the streets as if to block the Dom's advance. Unfortunately, the Dom was too fast that by the time it saw the true nature of the obstacle; there was no longer a way to stop the machine's momentum in time.

"Wha—!" The Dom's fighter barely had enough time to register what happened as a pair of beam sickles appeared from the steel pole, aimed right at the machine's torso, cleaving it as it passed; the upper half collapsing helplessly on the ground while the lower half continued its advance in a straight line. The Dom's fighter tried to adjust the camera angle to at least catch a glimpse of the assailant before the camera goes dark but the Dom's head was immediately busted by a single, well-placed beam shot.

"Hey guys?! You alright?!" With the two Doms disposed of, the Geminass now stands alone against its opponent hiding in the darkness. "Answer me! Damn it!"

Hearing nothing from her comrades, the Geminass' fighter decided to search higher, activating the machine's thrusters as it hovered along the field a little higher, giving it a better view of the streets and alleys.

"There!" Catching a glimpse of what appears to be a beam pistol preparing to fire, the Geminass immediately reacted by firing off its beam rifle in that direction, totaling the small apartment complex in the beam's path and sending assorted debris crashing on the ground.

However, there wasn't a single explosion from that area. The shot has missed its mark.

"Damn it! Where is it?!"

 _Beep! Beep!_

The alerts on the Geminass' controllers suddenly went off like crazy, indicating an approaching Mobile Suit from its flank. The machine immediately turned around, allowing it to finally come face to face with the hidden assailant.

The assailant's Gunpla wore a rather heavy cloak but the general silhouette of the machine and the various bits and pieces poking out from the fabric showed it to be a modified Gundam Deathscythe. However, the characteristic scythe was holstered at the back of the Mobile Suit as it rose. Instead, it had a single beam pistol in its hand.

Just as the Geminass' fighter processed this, the Deathscythe fired two shots in quick succession, taking out the Geminass' rifle and right leg, causing it to momentarily lose its balance and crash to the ground, deforming the asphalt. As the Gundam tried to recover, the Deathscythe immediately fired two more shots: one for the head and one for the torso. The Geminass failed to react fast enough and the machine soon collapsed to the ground, unresponsive.

"Damn!" The fighter struggled to try and get her machine standing but just as it managed to prop itself up using the arms, both of these were immediately blown off by the Deathscythe's pistol, sending the Geminass crashing to the ground again.

"W-who are you?" The Geminass' fighter called out through the communication board. Despite the damages incurred, the machine was still somewhat operational and the fighter wanted to at least know more about this assailant—even if it meant hearing things straight from the horse's mouth.

But the Deathscythe didn't bother giving a response. It simply stood there, gazing down at the fallen machine without speaking a word.

 _Whoosh!_

The wind suddenly picked up, ruffling the old fabric around the black Mobile Suit as its head turned to face the sky. Something rather fast just passed by, causing the sudden shift in the wind. Up in the sky, the Deathscythe's fighter was able to make out a shiny, metallic glint circling the field.

" _That's enough playing around, I suppose. I'm not exactly equipped to deal with that right now."_ The Deathscythe's fighter thought to themselves as it immediately ducked in the darkness of the alley. It paused for a bit to retrieve the wired pistol it used to distract the Geminass before exiting through the shadows, ignoring any attempts by the Geminass' fighter to call out to it.

* * *

Up in the sky, Kousaka's Delta Gundam soared in Waverider mode. She hasn't seen the entire battle and barely made it in time to prevent the Deathscythe from completely wrecking the three Mobile Suits. She had just watched the machine disappear yet she ran around the city a couple more times to ensure there are no more bogies around that may ambush her before landing next to the Geminass.

"This is Serial No. 0406, an agent from Enforcer. Geminass, do you hear me?" Kousaka called out as her unit transformed from Waverider to Mobile Suit, showing off all its golden glory.

"Yeah, I hear ya." The Geminass' fighter replied as they tried to get their machine to stand up again.

"I need to ask you a few questions. First off, what the hell are you guys doing here?" Kousaka reprimanded the girl, reminding her that the Neutral Zones were off-limits, especially at night. "And next, who the hell was that guy?"

The Geminass' fighter, who had been keeping quiet as she listened to Kousaka's sermon, just sighed before speaking. "That was…that was The Reaper."

"Huh?" Kousaka asked, not sure what to make of this person's words. Yet it was the second time she's heard the word Reaper thrown around. The first was in the rooftop of Suzuran. "Well, I get that the guy was using a Deathscythe but—" Wait. Kousaka paused as she remembered the conversation between the girls earlier. _"Could that girl be referring to 'this' Reaper?"_

"No, you don't understand. That guy was supposedly an urban legend." The Geminass' fighter recalled how easily all three of them were disposed of. Looking back on it now, she realized they were quite lucky that although all three of them were damaged in some way, they weren't really completely destroyed…save for one of the Dom Tropens.

"Damn! It does exist! I thought for sure they were just a myth!"

Not really making sense of what this girl is babbling about, Kousaka had her Delta Gundam pick the remains of the Geminass by the beam saber holster and raised it until their torsos were at the same level.

"Tell me more about this…urban legend."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **And here we have even more characters! To clarify though, my OC Kousaka Rui is not related to Kousaka Yuuma. Kousaka is her first name and Rui is her last name.**

 **More layers to the assumptions made in the previous chapter. This chapter was a little difficult to write for me. I've actually re-written it five times just tweaking bits and pieces. It's actually built on my original plan for the story and this was supposed to be the first chapter. Not sure how high school dynamics work in Japan as I can only reference my own but, I suppose I have some leeway since this is a fictional city.**

 **Anywho, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you next time~**


	7. Chapter 6 - Don't Fear the Reaper

**(Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam franchise. Credits goes to Bandai/Sunrise and their staff for making this wonderful mecha franchise.)**

 **Gundam Build Fighters – Cyber Era**

 **Chapter 6 – Don't Fear the Reaper**

* * *

 _Suzuran High School – Classroom 2-A_

"Namatame-san!"

It was a typical Tuesday and lunch break had just started for the students of 2-A. From her spot, Nagisa pretty much expected the room to be vacant as majority of the people she knows in the room opt to eat at the cafeteria or the rooftop. There was only her and a handful of girls around the room that time.

" _Come to think of it…have we always outnumbered the boys in this school?"_ Nagisa wondered as she watched Fuuka Takahashi intercept a particularly aloof blonde girl on her way out. She managed to watch this all since she was seated by the door on the right side where the exchange took place.

Aside from Hisoka's Model Kits Club, Suzuran also had a separate Gunpla Battle Club. It was practically a club dedicated to Gunpla Battle and only battle. As such, it wasn't exactly a newcomer friendly place, given that most of the members expect new recruits to at least be good enough to hold their own. Plus, their application procedures involved a very difficult skirmish against the regular members. If they can't win—then they weren't good enough to join. Fuuka Takahashi herself was a member of the Battle Club and wasn't particularly known to be humble. To Nagisa, she was almost like Kanade to a degree. Her cousin hardly strong-arms people into doing her bidding though.

"What now?" Namatame asked, halting her exit as the girl blocked the doorway.

"W-well…I'm sorry." Surprisingly, Fuuka, normally known for being too confrontational, mischievous and arrogant bowed as she apologized, surprising both Nagisa and Namatame in particular. "The Reaper got me…"

" _The Reaper?"_ The whole Reaper idea was no longer new to Nagisa. She had heard the tales of a supposedly rogue Gunpla hanging out within the Neutral Zones, targeting exploring Gunpla it came across. Supposedly, the fights were often over quickly and no one was really able to fully analyze what hit them. All the people who were attacked know was that the machine was a customized Deathscythe Gundam wielding the iconic beam scythe and of course, a cloak.

Like another particular nasty rumor.

Apart from those attacked, no one seems to have any other proof aside from the broken Gunpla parts—which is exactly what's inside the plastic bag Fuuka brought. It was the remains and components of her Geminass Unit-01 from the most recent attack only two days ago.

"And why are you apologizing to me?" Namatame asked before her lips curved into a small devilish smile. "Hah! Wait, did you think I was the Reaper?"

"Uhh…no! Of course not! But—" Fuuka kind of stuttered as she spoke which is weird since she was always so haughty. "I just recalled all the mean things I said to you earlier. I'm sorry about that."

"If you have to apologize someone, apologize to Rui-san for trying to scatter tacks on her chair." Namatame's expression eased up a little. "But—alright. I guess I should apologize to you too. I wasn't exactly having a nice day back then."

"Well, I guess we're even then." Fuuka finally got back up, showing the blonde the plastic bag. "Listen, can you help me fix this up? I kind of spent a while working on it so I don't want to just chunk it in the spare parts drawer."

"Are you just apologizing so I'll fix your model for free? In that case, forget it." Clearly more than a little annoyed, Namatame was about to ignore her and head out but Fuuka insisted.

"No! Of course not! You're the best Gunpla builder I know Namata—tch! No. Hakuno." Fuuka caught herself and opted to use the blonde's first name instead as a means to appease the agitated girl.

"Spare me the flattery Takahashi-san." Hakuno however, was not having it as she turned her face away with a sigh. "You're always like this."

"I promise things will be different between you and I from now on okay?"

"Yeah, I heard that before."

"Please Hakuno? Last favor. I really just need it for our local scrimmage with Tsukumo." Nonetheless Fuuka insisted.

"Candystripe a cancer ward. I'm not fixing it up for you."

"At least just look at it please? Just see if it can be salvaged or if I have to build a new model entirely."

"No."

"Please?"

"Urgh!" Realizing the conversation was going nowhere, Hakuno takes the plastic bag and inspected the extent of the model's damage. "I think the limbs can still be fixed since it's honestly not that bad. Head's a goner though."

"Thank you." Fuuka breathes a sigh of relief, feeling a little grateful even if Hakuno didn't really do anything to help her damaged model. "Listen uh, if you want maybe you can grab lunch with us—?"

"Not interested." With that, Hakuno dismisses herself and walks out of the room. From her spot in the chair, Nagisa quietly watched all this unfold, just as the blonde girl left the room. She could hear Fuuka whispering to herself, clearly annoyed.

"Tch! Why's she always like that?"

"You know we could fix that up for you right?" Nagisa calls out to Fuuka, offering her a helping hand. Fuuka though, just gave her a sharp look. The Battle Club members and the Model Kits Club members didn't really always see eye-to-eye.

"Yeah, whatever." Fuuka scoffed at Nagisa's offer. "And for what? Taking over our spot at the scrimmage? Just buzz off and do your club's charity programs freak."

"Hey, whatever floats your boat." Having said that Nagisa got up and headed for the door. "For now, I'm willing to do it for free but once I walk out that door, offer's null and void." She took a step backwards, still facing the girl.

"Whatever nerd!"

"Yeah, good luck fixing that. Heard Tsukumo's bringing in some big guns this time. Might not be a good idea going up against them with a hastily built model. Oh look, I'm almost out—" Just as Nagisa was about to step out the door—

"Wait!" Fuuka called her back. "Tch! Fine. Thanks, Nagisa."

Nagisa just grinned despite the girl clicking her tongue at her. "Just leave it on my desk." She told her before heading out. Just as she stepped out of the room and into the hall though, she immediately met face to face with the transfer, Kousaka Rui.

"Feisty!" Kousaka greets her with a grin. "So that girl Namatame Hakuno—was she always such a bitch?" The taller girl asked while watching the girl in question walk down the hall.

"Maybe." Nagisa closes the door so the other people in the room can't hear. "Grew up with her on the same neighborhood. Not much of a talker." She locks eyes with the taller girl. "Heh~ Overheard their squabble by the door huh?"

"Well, it was pretty loud. Plus, the door was open." Kousaka explained, shrugging her shoulders.

"Yeah. Then again, Fuuka and her crew always seemed like they enjoy picking on Hakuno-san. I can honestly understand why she wouldn't want to help girls like that." Nagisa recalled. "Hakuno's a great Gunpla builder and I guess, Fuuka and her friends tend to be too overbearing when they ask her to build models for them."

"And you are willing to help them?" Kousaka asked. "Even knowing that?"

"Well, they aren't my enemies per se. Plus, we don't often get along with the Battle Club so this might be a good way to bridge that gap."

"I see. Quite noble."

"Actually, we really just need a couple more hands for the Expo. Plus, from what I heard from Hisoka, we're lacking a lot of kits from the Wing series. You know—?" Nagisa just shrugged, hoping Kousaka could put two and two on her own. Fortunately, she was.

"Hahaha! Sly fox. Well, I won't rely too much on your Battle Club's models if they can't even fix their own stuff and have to resort to pressuring someone to do it for them. But, I'm no builder so who am I to talk right?" Kousaka just grinned.

"Heh! You're right." Likewise, Nagisa managed a small chuckle.

"So uh, you want to grab some lunch?" Kousaka asked, parroting Fuuka's earlier attempt to ask Hakuno out. Nagisa just smiled, having caught on to this.

"Sure. I'm in the mood for some soggy café food anyway."

* * *

 _Suzuran High School - Model Kits Guild Clubroom_

"And that's the gist of it." Nagisa recalls the earlier incident to the other members of the Model Kits Club, having brought in the ruins of the HG Geminass to them.

"Hmm…" Hisoka checked each piece carefully. "Uhh…I may have to agree with Hakuno-chan. The head is busted! We'll need at least a scrap Geminass to get a head from."

"We could try sculpting it but—"

"It would take too long. We've already got enough on our plate as it is." Hisoka sighed, recalling the still unfinished builds to be used for the Expo display.

"Takahashi-san's from the Battle Club right? Why don't they just fix it themselves? I mean, considering they're so great with Gunpla!" Kyouhei scoffed, the sarcasm very evident in his tone. The animosity between both clubs still ran strong between some of the members.

"It's all water under the bridge now Kyouhei. Plus, if we manage to fix this, maybe we would be able to get more people to help out with the Expo preparations." Hisoka explained, catching Aya's attention, who walked on over to them to see what the fuss was about.

"I still don't trust those guys nonetheless."

"It's not just your call to make. Anyway, issues of parts aside, what got this Geminass all broken up in the first place?" Hisoka wondered as he checked out one of the damaged arms. The damage incurred was somehow familiar to him.

"You wouldn't believe me if I tell you." Nagisa chuckled. "I just overheard from Takahashi and Namatame but apparently, Takahashi ran into "the Reaper" in the Neutral Zone."

"Why's she messing around in the Neutral Zone in the first place?!" Kyouhei felt a little irritated upon hearing it. The thought of repairing a model of someone they didn't get along with wasn't exactly sitting well with him already.

"What's the Reaper? Is he a scary guy?" Aya asked, wondering what they were on to while she was sanding and polishing a couple of small weapons she scratch-built.

"Aya you know the Zones Yoite warned you not to enter, right?" Tsumugi spoke up, having overheard their conversation earlier. "Aside from bullies, hackers and Enforcers, there's supposedly a rogue Gunpla who has made the Zone its hunting ground."

"This rogue Gunpla which they dubbed "The Reaper" was said to have attacked several Gunpla exploring the Neutral Zones. They were supposedly very sadistic, and would normally leave the Gunpla of whoever they chose at the time badly scrapped it was no longer worth the hassle to fix it." Nagisa added.

"B-but wait!" Aya spoke up, suddenly recalling Yoite's earlier warning. "I thought we're not allowed to enter the Neutral Zones?"

"There are ways to bypass the rules." Nagisa explained with a sly smile. "Well, it's not like Enforcer's been going around reprimanding individuals who break them though."

"Kind of like entering a porn site or something." Kyouhei added. "Generally, you're not supposed to look at those but, it's not like they'll arrest you for doing so."

All the girls and Hisoka suddenly turned to look at Kyouhei.

"Kyouhei—don't tell me?" The lanky club leader raises a brow.

"It was just an example! I don't look at sites like those!" Kyouhei immediately clears up. "Geez!"

"Why so defensive though?"

"Just—never mind."

"Yeah, I don't think I want to step into that subject matter any longer." Aya murmured. "Anyway, what was it about a reaper?"

"The Reaper's supposedly very scary!" Kanade suddenly enters the conversation, dimming the lights as she did. "Story goes that if you stay out in PLANET too long, an evil Gunpla is going to follow you and hunt your Gunpla down!"

"Umm…" Aya flinched a little upon hearing that, feeling a chill run across her spine.

"It starts off with you feeling that you aren't quite alone in one of the areas. You may even hear faint sounds of something moving about the place but when you investigate, there would be no one there…" Kanade continued, her voice sounding a lot more dramatic as she narrated the tale.

"Kanade—seriously?" Nagisa was about to interfere but Kanade raised a hand for her to be quiet.

"So, you feel relieved, right? It must be your imagination, you'll tell yourself. Until you see its black shadow looming behind you and an evil black scythe poised to strike!"

"Defensive position!" Aya piped up with much confidence.

"Aha! But then it just vanishes! Like your attack didn't do anything at all!" Kanade grinned.

"That's not fair!"

"And then…you hear another sound from behind you! And then, the beam scythe flashes! And then—SHHHKKKTTT!" Kanade made a motion with her hands showing an imaginary Gunpla being torn apart.

"EEEEHHH!" Aya winced at the mental image the story was giving her as she imagined her own Petit'gguy being in the same situation.

"And this is why you stay away from Neutral Zones good boys and girls!" Kanade smiled, turning the lights back on and going back to her usual cheerful self. "So, what did you guys think? Is my dramatic reading good or what?"

"Cringy." Nagisa sighed.

"Horrible." Likewise, Hisoka echoes the sentiment.

"Urgh…you guys are no fun."

"Anyway, this Reaper's a fairly new rumor. It started out like what, three months ago?" Kyouhei spoke up, steering the discussion back on track.

"Yeah. Still, they've made themselves quite the notorious reputation in and out of PLANET." Nagisa nods as she walks over to their small collection of Blu-Rays to pick out a show to watch. "Takahashi's just the latest victim of their activities, I guess."

"I agree." Hisoka turns his attention back on repairing the Geminass. "Wait a minute Kanade-san…you said this Reaper hunts with a scythe, right? Or was it just part of your dramatic exaggeration?"

"Hmm? Well, I may have overdone the description but yeah. All the message boards said the Reaper attacked them wielding a beam scythe."

"If that's the case—" Hisoka turns back to the damaged components of the Geminass. _"It doesn't add up…"_

"You seem bothered Hisoka-san. Is something troubling you?" Tsumugi asked, leaning over the young man's shoulder.

"Not really. Anyway, why don't you leave this Geminass to me for now? I'll figure out how to fix the head later." Hisoka stood up, gathering all the Geminass parts and taking it with him before collecting his other things and heading for the door. "Mugi, please close up when you're done."

"H-Huh? Oh yeah, sure!" Tsumugi nodded though she found Hisoka's sudden departure a little puzzling.

* * *

 _Aya's Room_

"Hey Aya! I've finished fixing your SD!" Yoite cheerfully announces as he walks into his cousin's room, only to find her reading up articles the old-fashioned way. "Hmm? You don't feel like browsing in VR today?"

"I love browsing in VR! I just don't like to use it to do homework!" Aya explained, her eyes turning away from the screen to face her cousin. "Hey! Little Gundam's back!"

"Told you I'd fix it all up!" Yoite exclaimed, looking proud of what he did. He handed the model to her before sitting on the edge of the bed, close to the computer chair.

"Umm…Yoite-san? Could you theoretically umm…you know? Go over The Edge?" Aya asks, motioning to the network.

"You mean enter the Neutral Zone? Yeah, I suppose." Yoite nodded, leaning back a little. "I won't recommend it though. Nothing to see there anyway."

"The whole bit about travelling through the Neutral Zone to reach other Hubs sound pretty interesting though."

"Yeah, but unless someone figures out how to sneak a High Grade or a Real Grade, it'll be difficult—" Yoite suddenly trailed off though as he thought for a bit. "Wait. Technically, the Reaper's already figured it out—"

"You mean that rumored Gunpla attacking people wandering the Neutral Zone?"

"Yeah. I've seen the damaged models—most are HGs. How'd they sneak it in there?" Yoite wondered out loud. "Wait—then that means Shirabuki knows how too!"

"By Shirabuki do you mean—?"

"Your Model Kits Club President. Hisoka Shirabuki. He was the Reaper's _first_ victim after all." Yoite informs his younger cousin. Aya was visibly surprised upon hearing this.

" _Then that means he's gotten a lead to this guy…"_ Aya recalls his expression upon inspecting the Geminass. Perhaps it was something related to it as well?

"No way! Shirabuki-san was actually attacked?"

"His Gunpla managed to survive though—since he repelled it. It was around…four months ago, I think? It was after the Artistic Gunpla Grand Prix."

"Nagisa-san and Kyouhei-san said it just started three months ago though." Aya suddenly recalled. Once again, something wasn't adding up.

"Hmm…I'm pretty sure I'm right but—" Yoite scratched his head as his brows furrowed, trying to recall the events in mind. "I might be remembering wrong."

"Maybe."

"You should probably ask Hisoka yourself. He may seem like a difficult guy to approach but he's really, really nice." Yoite suggested as he got up and stretched before walking over to Aya's recent builds: The Red Rider and the Pettit'gguy. "Hmm! You learn fast!"

"Thanks! I still have a lot to go though…" Aya smiled upon hearing the compliment.

"Yeah. Anyway, I'm going out now. Oh, if you're not busy, why don't you swing by my place in the weekend? I'll be working on a Master Grade Psycho Zaku for a commission. You can help me paint it!"

"Sounds fun!"

"Cool. Alright. Come around Saturday morning okay?"

"Okay!"

"Great. I'm pretty sure it was four months ago…" Yoite was still mumbling about the date as he left, leaving Aya to think it over for herself. Hisoka definitely noticed something earlier. She can feel it somehow.

"Aya! Dinner!" Her mom called out, snapping her back to reality.

"Coming!" Aya replied as she turned away from the PC for a while.

" _First, I need to figure out how to get to the Neutral Zone."_

* * *

Dinnertime wasn't too rowdy, considering there were only three of them around the table. As always, Aya was skimping out on her vegetables, catching the attention of her mother who immediately scolded her about it, leaving her no choice. Her dad on the other hand, looked a lot tired though he still tried to stay cheerful around the two of them.

"You look tired dad." Aya asked as she took a bite out of some cucumbers.

"Well…it was a field day at the office. We had to prepare three very posh rooms for a bunch of celebrities would be staying over in the building." Aya's dad sighed.

"Sounds like a tall order dear."

"Indeed. Lots of expensive articles that could potentially get you sued if you broke any of them…man, I'm exhausted."

"Celebrities?" Aya wondered.

"Well, one's an upcoming musician or idol or something. The other two are distant relatives of my boss from Seoul. I don't know. Heard they're pretty big back there." Aya's father pats her shoulder. "You'd be better off asking your friends and schoolmates. Daddy's been out of touch with the entertainment industry since you were born."

"Heehee, you're just old dad~" Aya teases before going back to their meals. "Hmm…dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Your office is the building with a lot of dragons, right?" Aya asked, recalling the Holy Dragon Server she saw within PLANET.

"Hmm…Well I—hold on…yeah! I remember seeing a bunch of dragon statues in some of the rooms. The big ones with wings!" Her father raises his arms as if to mimic a dragon taking flight. "Why do you ask?"

"Nothing." Aya replied. "Just curious."

* * *

 _Suzuran High School - Model Kits Clubroom_

The Model Kits Club normally follows an organized schedule.

Mondays are usually spent building kits and tutorials for newcomers who want to get started. Hisoka normally runs this, teaching other students various tips and tricks to taking their Gunpla builds to the next level. Tuesdays are open competition days. Most of the non-regulars usually only show up for this day so the room is a lot crowded than usual. Nagisa and Kanade normally supervises this activity.

Wednesdays are free periods. For the regulars of the club, this is the best time to prep their pieces for painting as well as paint in general. Occasionally, Koga and Misaka meets up with the rest of the Gunpla Rally Group in this place, sharing their latest models and records with each other. If not Koga, Tsumugi normally takes this as an opportunity to watch some anime series with her friends.

Thursdays are again, free battles and Fridays are spent cleaning up the club room and equipment. Sometimes, they break this schedule during busy days like exams but most of the time, this is the overview of their activities.

It was a slow Wednesday afternoon. Neither Tsumugi's friends or the Gunpla Rally Group met up for that day so the whole room was rather quiet, save for the sound coming out of the TV as Kanade sat watching a re-run of ZZ Gundam. Tsumugi was working on her laptop as usual while their president Hisoka wasn't around for that day, leaving Kyouhei in charge of closing up the room.

"Do you get lots of slow days like this?" Aya asked, having finished practicing on the unmanned machines from the battle projector.

"Well…everyone's busy preparing for the Expo…" Misaka replied with a big yawn. "Plus this 'Thorn' incident and the Reaper attack got everyone worried about their servers online…"

"Uhh…what's the 'Thorn'?" Aya asked.

"It's the Gunpla shown on TV a couple of weeks ago…You know? The one that supposedly attacked Heli-Hottie—"

"Holy Dragon, Misaka." Koga corrected his sleepyhead friend.

"Right, Holy Dragon…I remembered that hehehe…"

" _Oh, him?"_ Aya realized as she recalled the encounter she had with that guy in the Neutral Zone. The Gunpla that wrecked her SD. The reason why she wanted to become a better fighter was to take down that shadowy Gunpla. _"So he's called the 'Thorn' now huh? Must be because of all his Gunpla's spiky bits."_

The door then opened and Nagisa once again, walks into the room. Everyone momentarily looked at her as she closed the door behind her before sitting on one of the chairs just beside Tsumugi.

"Hisoka-san's not around?" Nagisa wondered as she glanced at everyone present in the room.

"What do you think, Miss Obvious?" Kanade replied sarcastically as she turned down the volume just as ZZ Gundam's opening theme played.

"Just confirming." Nagisa just sighed. "Anyway, Mugi-san? Mind turning over to the PLANET forums? There's just something I need to see." She asks the girl usually manning the laptop.

"The PLANET forums? What's going on?" Tsumugi wondered as she started browsing. "Umm…updates, promotions and—oh! Looks like there's been another attack!"

"An attack?!" Both Kanade and Kyouhei perked up upon hearing it and immediately approached the laptop. "By the Reaper? Down at the castle field?"

"At least three Gunpla were badly damaged in the "castle" field in the Neutral Zone. They all seemed to be cut up with beam swords or scythes—it matches with Kanade-san's story!" Aya summarizes the articles and clippings.

"So, it wasn't a joke huh?" Nagisa murmured to herself. "I overheard the Battle Club members worrying about repairs when I was in the room. I guess they were the ones who got attacked."

"Hah! Hahaha! Wait—" Kyouhei chuckled as he scrolled back down to the images of the Gunpla wreckage. "Hah! I recognize that Rozen Zulu and Airmaster! They're from those dudes who usually go with Fuuka to the scrimmages! How will they fight Tsukumo then?"

"Hah! Worst case scenario for them is us getting asked to take over." Kanade shrugged. "Haha! Guess the Battle Club doesn't get to be the school's hero today hahaha!"

"Does this mean—?" Aya asked.

"Well…we may be covering up for them on Sunday."

"Hell yeah!" Kanade cheered.

"It's a good chance but, I'll be sitting this one out guys." Koga speaks up, patting the sleepy Misaka's head. "We've…kind of got plans arranged for Sunday so…"

"Hmm…maybe you should take Aya along!" Tsumugi suggested. "It'll be Aya's first time fighting in the big arena too!"

"Would it be alright?" Aya turns to ask the others.

"Sure. It'll be a good practice for you." Kanade pats her on the back. "Get a feel for a proper team fight you know?"

"Then I'll be coming along." Nagisa volunteers to go. "Kyouhei, Kanade?"

"Pass." Kyouhei raises his hand. "Need to stop by the hospital this Sunday. Also, I try not to involve myself with the Battle Club's shenanigans if I can help it."

"I'd love to—! If I don't have to watch shop this Sunday. Mom and Dad want to get all romantic with each other so they'll probably be gone for the day, leaving just me to watch the shop." Kanade sighs.

"It can't be helped. Hope Hisoka-san can make it this Sunday." Nagisa murmured as she turns back to Aya. "You held out well during that fight in Toy's Town. I can't wait to see your completed Red Rider in action."

"Hehehe…please go easy on your expectations."

"Right! Well, what say we all meet up in the Central Hub later in the evening?" Kanade offered as she stood up. "Just hang out and chill at my server?"

"Sounds good to me!" Aya immediately agrees.

"After doing our homework, of course." Nagisa reminds them, immediately dampening everyone's moods.

"You just had to swoop in and kill all the fun huh?"

* * *

 _PLANET – Central Hub_

As agreed, Aya had gone online in her Pettit'gguy once she was all finished with her homework. She had since added another accessory to her avatar—namely, a brown cowboy hat and a pair of pistols hanging loosely on a small connection port to the small Gunpla's back.

"Hey!" Kanade's SD Origins Guntank greeted her as the tiny bear walked towards Toy's Town main server. "Looking a little sharp there huh?"

"Yeah. Can't neglect my little form after all!" Aya cheerily exclaimed as her Pettit'gguy saluted the SD Guntank. "By the way—haven't the others arrived yet?"

"Nah. Probably still doing homework." Kanade sighed.

"Have you finished yours Takamine-san?"

"Hell nah! I can just borrow Nagisa's tomorrow haha! This is what she gets for being in Section A!" Kanade boasted. Section A was their batch's "star section" of sorts though that doesn't mean other students couldn't topple those from that section in academics alone.

"Boo!"

A slight push sent Kanade's SD Guntank wheeling across the street, having forgotten that her SD runs on tracks and not on legs. Aya's Pettit'gguy turned to look at the new arrival and met face to face with an ominous black SD resembling the god of death itself.

"Nagisa?" Aya asked.

"Yep." Nagisa replied. She was using an SD EX-Standard Deathscythe Hell. Cleanly built and no stickers were used except perhaps, the eyes.

"Why are you in a Deathscythe?"

"That's the Reaper Aya! Run!" Kanade jokingly calls out as she halts her SD's advance just as she was about to collide with three other models walking her way.

"Watch it!" SD Super Gundam exclaimed.

"Hey, I don't like that tone!" Kanade's Guntank speaks up, taking a defiant tone herself against the group. "Hey, you're the kids who's always messing around my server!"

"Oops! It's the Toy's Town crazy lady!" SD Guncannon realized.

"Run!" SD God Gundam exclaimed, immediately taking off in the other direction followed closely by his other friends.

"RAAGGHHH! I'll get you!" Kanade roared, her Guntank's tracks rolling furiously after them like an enraged game of tag. Seeing this, the two girls just sighed.

"Is Kanade-san always like this?" Aya asked.

"She just likes playing around in here. Said it makes her feel like a kid again." Nagisa answered, her SD Deathscythe Hell hoisting its signature weapon over its shoulder as it walked, followed by Aya's white bear. "She wasn't always the loudmouth that she is today. Back when she was a kid, Kanade's pretty sweet and mild."

"Somehow, I find that difficult to believe."

"Think my aunt calls her "baby angel" for nothing?"

"Seriously?"

"Hey scrubs! Check this out! The Dorks have found something cool!" Kanade calls them over to where she followed the three other SDs to.

"Something cool?" Aya wondered.

"It's probably a new shop or something." Nagisa just smiled to herself though it was pretty hard to tell with her Gunpla's lack of expression other than a serious face. "Let's go."

"But that direction is—" Aya tried to say but Nagisa's SD had already gone on ahead. Still, Aya followed. Once they have left though, an SD Gouf Custom appears from behind a large lamp post and looked straight ahead to the direction the mechanical bear was running to.

"Something interesting huh…?"The SD Gouf wondered as it followed Aya and Nagisa with a stern gaze. "This might be worth checking out."

* * *

 _Central Hub – Edge_

"What's so interesting about this place?"

Aya wondered as she gathered along with Kanade, Nagisa and the three SDs near the edge of the virtual city. She's been here before—this is where she chased the unknown Gunpla—well, it's known as the "Thorn" now apparently. It's the place Yoite warned her not to go if she's not prepared.

"Well—"

"The SD Knight Gundams normally stationed here—"

SD God Gundam and SD Super Gundam points at the gaping hole that was once guarded by the aforementioned models. This time though, those models appear to be absent, leaving the whole portal unguarded. The landscape barricades have all seemed to be tossed aside—most likely by the Thorn when Aya first chased it.

"They're not here…" Aya wondered, her Gunpla's eyes blinking as it tried to assess the situation.

"Yeah. I guess that's why a lot of people have been coming and going this past few days." Nagisa murmurs as her Gunpla leans in closer to look at the rocks.

"Does that mean we can go explore the Zone now?" SD Guncannon chirped excitedly.

"Cool!" SD God Gundam echoes the sentiment.

"Not cool! Besides, I doubt you'll be able to hold your own when you go in—hey!" Kanade attempts to warn them but just as she steered her Guntank to block the three, all three of them made a quick dash for the portal with excited shouts.

"Uh-oh, not good." Nagisa immediately dashes in with her SD Deathscythe Hell, followed closely by Kanade's Guntank. Left alone, Aya looked around the surroundings a bit more, lest the Enforcers were just moved to more concealed locations like the trees or crags. Realizing she was all alone now, her Pettit'gguy shook its head and dived in, following the two girls and three kids into the Neutral Zone.

* * *

 _Neutral Zone – Field 14 Cavern_

Immediately upon entering the portal, all six Gunplas were immediately transported to one of the Neutral Zone's automatic battle settings—this time, a massive cavern. Dangerous looking stalactites hang low from the ceiling while stalagmites dot the floor ahead, making walking around, even in a Gunpla, particularly difficult without bumping into the rocks. There was only a small pathway carved out by running water to serve as a bit of a guide but, because of the Zone's unstable nature, it can be rather difficult to determine which road leads to where.

"So cool! I can't believe we've all been missing out on some great places!" SD God Gundam excitedly cheers.

"Hey Nee-san? Do you know where this path leads to?" SD Super Gundam turns to ask Nagisa, whose SD Deathscythe Hell was floating slightly above them as to not get hampered by the toothy rock formations.

"Hmm, not exactly. Some say that going to the edge of the battlefield will take you to another one. I haven't exactly tried it myself though." Nagisa replies, a little unsure of herself.

"We could've gotten a better field! My Guntank doesn't really deal with tight spaces that well!" Kanade grumbles as the SD Guntank clumsily crawls along the path, bumping into the stalagmites as it goes. "Man! I always hated this field!"

"Heh~" Nagisa chuckled as she turned to Aya who had just caught up earlier. "Rather cramped eh? Makes it highly advantageous for those using SDs or High and Real Grades. There's no way a Master Grade can fit here without being hampered in the fight."

"Guns work great here as well. Damn! I should've changed into a High Grade before I went in." Kanade grumbles further as she crashes her Guntank into another stalagmite. "Ahh! Damn it! There's mess all around—can't we just cut to a small clearing for like, thirty seconds? I want to check for any dents or dings on my model!"

"Right, damage carries over to the outside here in the Neutral Zone." Aya recalls the incident with her first SD. "But can we like swap our models when we enter or something? Like changing into a bigger robot?"

"Not exactly." Nagisa pointed out. The cavern had gotten much darker than before so Nagisa activates her SD's beam scissors to act as a form of makeshift torch. "There's special platforms that allow you to temporarily "pause" your activities so you can swap your machine and resume from that platform."

"Or you could always use the old trick me and the others use." Kanade followed up. "Oh wait, I think the path's getting wider."

As if responding to Kanade's request, the rows of spiky rocks dotting the landscape has started to decrease more and more as the six Gunplas made their way along the watery path which was slowly starting to widen up a bit more, allowing Kanade's Guntank to drive through with less difficulty.

Surprisingly, it was a lot brighter as well, allowing them to see all the tiny details packed into this area of the virtual world. Small crystal formations have started to appear around them, adding to the illumination provided by a small crack above where the slowly setting sun shone through.

"So cool!" Aya could not help but be amazed by it all.

"Yeah! I wonder why they don't like us coming here?" SD God Gundam wondered as he tried picking up a shard of crystal from the floor.

"No one's stopping you kid."

"Being a bad influence again Kanade?"

"Shut up!"

While the girls looked around the place, the three other SDs decided to compete in trying to find the largest crystal formation they can find. The crystals were embedded in the rocks and the walls but, even an out-of-the-box Gunpla can still blow through them with ease.

"Haha!" SD Super Gundam cheered as it let out a small blast from its Long Beam Rifle, sending rocks crashing down around them though it wasn't really that bad.

"Hey! Don't damage the property!" Aya moves in to scold the kid, her Pettit'gguy's face turning into a frown as she points an accusing paw at him.

"It'll fix itself later on. That's how most battle fields in Gunpla Battle works." Nagisa explained.

"Yeah, you worry too much Bear-san!"

"But you wouldn't want to cause a cave-in now, would you?" Immediately, Nagisa bonks SD Super Gundam's head with her deactivated beam scissor.

"Ouch!"

"Alright! I got one!" SD God Gundam cheered as it espied a particularly large crystal further down the crystal-laden path obscured by shadows.

"Hey, wait up!" His friends called out as they followed.

"Hehe! You snooze, you lose!"

SD God Gundam managed to get to the crystal first and immediately started tugging at the shiny rock formation. "Grr!" He struggles to wedge the crystal free from the rock formation.

"You dummy! Use your God Finger!" SD Guncannon scolds.

"And leave half of it stuck in the walls? No thanks. I…think it's budging—!" SD God Gundam tugged harder and slowly, the shiny rock was starting to slide out of the wall. "Just a little more—!"

 _Slam!_

Before SD God Gundam could wedge the whole crystal free, a dark foot immediately stepped on the crystal, causing SD God Gundam to suddenly lose control of its own momentum and tumble backwards.

"Urgh!" He groaned as he tried to re-orient himself.

"Aya—!" Nagisa immediately rushes in front of Aya's Pettit'gguy upon detecting the presence of another Gunpla with them.

"N-No way…" SD God Gundam slowly backs away from the Mobile Suit that suddenly appeared in front of it as it slowly stepped out from the shadows.

It was a High Grade Deathscythe Hell, the grim reaper looking Gundam from Endless Waltz. A cursory glance shows that it is cleanly built with trims properly done with paint than stickers. Normally, a custom High Grade built by Hisoka or Kanade would be enough to defeat this without much problem but, right now, it possesses high enough parameters to take on every SD in the room.

"Look who decided to come exploring!" A mocking voice came out from the Reaper Gunpla. "Wee muppets aren't we? What brings you all the way out here?"

"W-Well…" SD Guncannon's voice shivered a little as it tried to answer the question.

"We're not obligated to answer to you." Nagisa opts to speak up on their behalf, addressing the larger Gunpla with a calm but stern tone. "We have as much right to be here as you do."

"Ha! A girl Fighter! And you're using a little me as well. Unbelievable..." The Deathscythe Hell continues mocking the little group.

"Is there a problem?" A small flash of anger starts to rise from Nagisa's tone, try as she might to stay calm.

"Nothin' just—you and these tykes are trespassing on my territory you know?" Deathscythe Hell casually swings its beam scissors over its shoulder as it continued looking down on everyone else in the place.

"Since when was this your territory?"

"Nagisa!"

"So, you're talking back to me now girl?" Deathscythe Hell steps forward, causing the others to step back a little more, save for Nagisa. "Do you know who I am?"

"No. Not that I'd care either way."

"Nagisa!"

"Ahaha! You don't really look at the forums that much don't you?" The Deathscythe Hell laughs before seemingly vanishing into the shadows, much to everyone's surprise.

"I'm the Reaper…bitch."

"Urgh!" As Nagisa turned around, the sudden flash of a beam scissor sliced from behind her, almost cutting through had she not been fast enough to dodge, dragging Aya along with her.

"Waaah!" The other Gunplas yelled out as they catch a glimpse of a dark silhouette in pursuit, gliding fast towards them with beam scissors drawn.

"Rrrr!" Growling, Aya's Pettit'gguy leapt to action as she jumped in front of the retreating Nagisa. Drawing her pistols from their holsters, she started shooting at the phantom, causing it to halt its advance in order to dodge the shots.

"Good reflexes but—" The Deathscythe Hell skillfully dodges the attacks and lands just behind the bear-shaped Gunpla. "Not fast enough—!"

 _Boom! Boom!_

Before it can cleave Aya's Pettit'gguy with its scythe, two rather powerful shots were fired at the Deathscythe Hell's torso and though it immediately raised its arms to take them with its bracers, significant damage was still done to the model.

Kanade had fired the shots from her Guntank and looked rather proud of what she has done.

"Ohhh yeaaaahhhh! How's that big boy?!" Kanade jeers at the damaged High Grade.

"Heh~" Sneering, the black Gunpla once again retreats into the shadows as Kanade makes her way to the group.

"Did you see that! Bugger just ran off with his tail between his legs!" Kanade cheered as she helped Aya and Nagisa up. Unknown to her though…

"Kanade watch out—!" Nagisa called out just as a beam scythe appears from out of nowhere, aimed directly at the SD Guntank. Kanade steers out of the way but the weapon managed to cut off her left arm and damage a portion of her tracks, making it difficult for her to move.

"Hehe~" Again, another jeer was shot at the small Gunpla's direction as Aya lets out a hail of small scale fire from her equipped pistols.

"Aya! Take Kanade and the kids and get them out of here!" Nagisa commanded, her SD Deathscythe Hell flying furiously towards the moving shadow.

"Got it but, what about you?" Aya asked, helping Kanade's SD up.

"I'll be fine—!" Nagisa gritted her teeth as the Deathscythe Hell materialized again to attack with its signature weapon only to be parried by the same weapon wielded by its SD counterpart. "Go! Now!"

"I'm not running away—!" Kanade tries to protest but Aya's Pettit'gguy held on to Kanade's Guntank tightly as she started dragging her back towards the path they came in, followed closely by the three SDs.

With all four other Gunpla gone, Nagisa now stands alone against the Reaper. Brandishing her beam scissors, she kept alert on all sides, waiting for the opportunistic attacker to strike again.

"Right there—!"

A sudden flash. A suspicious gust of wind. The Deathscythe Hell's beam scissors appeared behind Nagisa again and this time, Nagisa swung back with her own weapon, expertly parrying the strike and stopping the blade just a few centimeters above her own Gunpla's head.

It was rather odd scene to see an SD hold its own against its larger, more normally proportioned counterpart. From the way the two combatants moved about, the larger Gunpla seemed to be enjoying the fight as well.

"You're quite good, girl. Such a shame we had to meet like this…"

"Oh yeah? Wonder whose fault that was?" Nagisa shrugs her opponent off as she stepped back to regain some distance needed to adjust her machine's balance.

"Can't be helped. I have to defend my turf you know? Absolutely no outsiders allowed!" The Deathscythe Hell sneers at its smaller opponent again as if taunting Nagisa.

"Heh! And just how big has your turf been getting nowadays?" Nagisa retorted. "First the city, then the castle and now this—!" Nagisa's Gunpla goes back to the offensive.

"It doesn't have to be this way babe! You can always consider other options—I mean, you've got the colors down already!" The Reaper laughs as it intercepts her attack.

"Other options?"

"Hehehehe!" The Reaper chuckled. "Want to know about the secret of my success babe?"

* * *

"Damn it! We can't leave my cousin there alone!" Kanade protests as Aya leads all four of them out of the jagged pathways.

"You say that but, we're in no condition to help out either!" Aya explained.

"Hey, something's glowing by the right!" SD God Gundam pointed out.

"Now's not the time to be looking for trinkets!"

"No, I mean—" Pausing a bit, Aya decreased her speed to turn and look at what the kid was on to and sure enough, just a little over the stalagmites, a beam scythe was slowly materializing again.

"Duck!" She yells at the trailing SDs, allowing them to dodge a clean sweep of a beam blade aimed directly at them.

"Impressive~" The Reaper calls out as their Gunpla starts to disappear into the shadows again, having only materialized for a few seconds.

"RAAAHH!" Aya roared as her Gunpla again, attempted to shoot the larger Gunpla but only managed to damage more of the rocks dotting the landscape.

" _If he's already here…does that mean?"_ Aya felt a bit nervous about how Nagisa was faring back there. She found it hard to believe but, if the Reaper's here then the only possible reason is that Nagisa has been destroyed already.

"Bear-san!" SD God Gundam calls out to Aya just in time to warn her of a sharp beam object headed her way. Aya's Pettit'gguy managed to narrowly dodge the projectile just as a black and gray Gunpla arm started vanishing into the shadows again.

"How can we beat them if we can't even see them?" SD Super Gundam wondered as it tried looking for a way out.

"Hey kid! Why don't we put that big gun of yours to use eh?" Kanade calls out to SD Super Gundam, gesturing to its long beam rifle.

"But how?"

"There." Kanade points to the low-hanging stalactites from the ceiling. "We could probably use a cave-in right now."

"Got it!"

While Kanade and the kids worked on executing their little plan, Aya was still engaged in a difficult battle with her phantom assailant. It wasn't as if the attacks themselves were extraordinarily powerful; rather, the constant vanishing and reappearing was making her feel badly harassed. Her Pettit'gguy's also starting to feel a little slower as well.

"Urgh!" Just as Aya thought she can get a bit of a breather, the Deathscythe Hell's leg appears and lands a solid kick to the bear Gunpla's stomach, sending it flying backwards with much force, breaking a couple of stalagmites in the process.

"Aww…that the best you can do, girlie? Your friend was a lot more exciting as an opponent!" The Reaper's fighter mocks Aya as his Gunpla remained hidden in the shadows. At this point Aya was feeling a lot more frustrated.

" _I worked hard to build this Gunpla…"_ She thought as she started feeling a bit of rage at the Gunpla which trashed hers to this extent. _"Is this how every Fighter feels?"_

"Sorry it took so long!" Kanade suddenly called out, catching both Aya and the Reaper's attention though the latter still remained hidden in the shadows. "Get out of there!"

"Eat this, losers!" With a quick, full-powered charge, SD Super Gundam fired its long beam rifle, sweeping it across the cavern's ceiling, causing the stalactites to fall down to the floor. Due to early heads up, Aya's Pettit'gguy was able to get away in time but the Reaper wasn't so lucky. Try as it might, it was unable to evade the jagged rocks collapsing in on its body, exposing the darkening sky outside.

"We can get out!" SD Guncannon cheered as he immediately started climbing up to exit the confined space.

"Help Kanade's Guntank get out!" Aya orders SD God Gundam and SD Super Gundam to carry off Kanade's SD Guntank out of the cavern by lifting it on their shoulders. Once all three have made it through, only Aya was left underground.

"Come on Bear-san!" SD Guncannon extends a hand to reach for the Pettit'gguy's stumps.

"Coming!" Aya stepped back to get some boost to power her Gunpla's leap but just as she leapt up, a hand immediately emerged from the shadows, catching her Gunpla by the leg and furiously throwing it at the cavern's wall again. The hub around Aya's control panel now turned yellow and alarms started flashing around her.

"Aya!" Kanade calls out.

"I've had enough of you hurting my Gunpla!" Growling, Aya discards her small pistols and waited for the Reaper to emerge with its scythe. Upon catching the faintest light from what appears to be the beam scythe activating, Aya rushed in for a tackle, sending her Gunpla and its bigger opponent crashing to the ground.

"Get off!" The Reaper kicks off Aya's Gunpla which immediately jumped away to avoid a strafe of Vulcan fire. The Reaper brandishes its scythe, expecting it to easily cleave the smaller Gunpla but before its attack can connect, Aya raises her Gunpla's paw as her fingers moved to another slot on her control board and chooses a new weapon. Immediately, a thin, pink beam burst out of the stumps, parrying the beam scythe and stopping it dead in its tracks. "What?!"

"Don't underestimate my Gunpla!" Taking advantage of the confusion, Aya's Pettit'gguy started wailing at the Reaper, adding in another beam saber from its other stump. The scythe was near useless in such an extreme close range.

"Damn it—! Get lost already!" The Deathscythe's eyes flared and immediately fires off its buster shield and though Aya was able to block it with her combined beam sabers, the momentum was still enough to send Aya further back to the cavern.

"Hehe! I've got you now, stupid bear—!" The Deathscythe brandishes its beam scythe again and immediately chased after its opponent further into cavern. From outside, Kanade watched it all happen.

" _It fired off another Buster Shield. But earlier we already…and the first to appear was the Endless Waltz ver…oh…Damn it!"_ Watching it all unfold, Kanade cursed as she finally figured out what was going on.

* * *

"What a cheap technique—!"

Back in the clearing, Nagisa was still locked in fierce combat with the Deathscythe Hell. Her attacks were quick and well calculated as opposed to the forceful strikes of her larger opponent. Clearly, as a Fighter, Nagisa had better reflexes and skill. However, the difference in spec was fairly evident and the High Grade was keeping up with the SD just fine.

"What about it? Have you considered my offer?" The Reaper continues to taunt Nagisa while brushing aside the SD's small attacks.

"As if I'd side with vagrants like you—!" Nagisa yells defiantly, finally whittling down the Reaper's patience.

"Fine. Guess I'll just have to destroy you—!" With a burst, the larger Gunpla swept down, holding its beam scissor closer by the blade to deal a stronger blow to Nagisa's SD version. Before the attack could land though—

"WAAAAHHHH!"

A familiar scream caught Nagisa's attention and from the tunnel, Aya's Pettit'gguy came flying back, pushed by what appears to be a buster shield. Before she could crash to another wall though, Aya finally managed to shake off the dodgy weapon, sending her Pettit'gguy crashing by Nagisa's SD foot.

"Owowowow!" Aya groaned as her Gunpla slowly stood up. "Whoah! Nagisa, you're okay?"

"Yeah. And you?" Nagisa breathes a sigh of relief upon seeing Aya was alright.

"Damn it! What went wrong now?" For some odd reason, the "Reaper" Nagisa was fighting suddenly lost a bit of the cool it kept all throughout the fight.

"That bear and her little friends managed to take out R back in the tunnel!" Another voice suddenly replied.

"Hey! I'm fine!"

"I can't believe this…"

Hearing all the voices echoing within the cavern was slightly unnerving in a different way. Aya and Nagisa's Gunpla stood with their backs to each other as an eerie wind swept across the clearing.

"W-what's going on…?" Aya wondered, feeling slight panic rising up her throat.

"This Reaper's success in ambushing exploring Gunpla and expanding their territories…is not because he's some legendary urban legend…"

Immediately, a couple more Gunpla appeared in the room. All of them were High Grades. And all of them were variations of the iconic grim reaper Gundam.

"No way! There were four of them all this time?" Aya gasped upon seeing them. Aside from the Deathscythe Hell from Endless Waltz, there was also the Deathscythe Hell from the TV release, which was the one damaged badly from Kanade's stalactite stunt. There was also the TV Deathscythe and the Deathscythe Katoki version.

"Couldn't believe it myself…" Nagisa sighed.

"And you could've been the lucky fifth member too!" Deathscythe Hell EW once again, taunts Nagisa. "Like I said, you already have the colors."

"Like hell!"

"Can we fight them?" Aya wondered.

"Four against two with a big spec difference?"

"Thought so."

Nagisa and Aya stood back to back in face of the four reapers slowly closing in on them. Aya's Pettit'gguy had already suffered a lot of damage and was in the danger of going into the red while the particle supply on Nagisa's SD Deathscythe Hell was close to running low.

"You leave us no choice then! Now that you know our secret, I can't possibly let you out now. Guys?"

At the Deathscythe Hell EW's word, all three drew out their beam scythes and was about to end the two smaller Gunplas when—

"Fire! Fire!"

Concentrated gunfire rained down from above the crack in the ceiling, causing the reapers to fall back. Kanade had followed after them, bringing the three other SDs with her. SD Guncannon was assisting her in providing cover fire for Nagisa and Aya.

"Damn it!" The regular Deathscythe cursed as it moved away from the sudden volley of fire from above. "I've had just enough of these kids! Bring them down!"

"Good luck doing that without your shield dumbass!"

"Could you stop acting like amateurs?!"

The Reapers all argued with each other as they dispersed in different directions in an attempt to dodge the volley. Taking advantage of this, Nagisa fired up her SD's thrusters one more time in order to try taking one down while they had their back turned on her.

"Gotcha!" The SD Deathscythe Hell lunged at the Deathscythe EW, managing to land a rather deep vertical slash on its torso with its beam scissors.

"Urgh!" The EW's fighter groaned as his Gunpla crashed to the rocky walls, sending debris flying all over.

"N!" The Deathscythe TV version calls out to the other but immediately, it was assaulted by a furious white Pettit'gguy with both of its beam sabers activated. "Damn it!" The Deathscythe TV version tries to parry back with its beam scythe but Aya's attacks were too furious and random, reminiscent of someone just mashing the buttons in a fighting game.

Kanade and the three other SDs have also descended down in order to take on the Deathscythe Hells. SD God Gundam and SD Guncannon took on the TV version while Kanade and SD Super Gundam fought off the Endless Waltz version. Having seen the Deathscythe Hell fire its buster shields earlier, both Reapers were now at a bit of a disadvantage as all four concentrated on using ranged attacks.

"Urgh! I hate kids like these!" The Deathscythe Hell TV version tried to charge at Kanade but was immediately intercepted by SD God Gundam's Burning Finger attack.

"Eat this!" The SD howled as its small hand made contact with the Deathscythe Hell's right shoulder, sending a concentrated attack coursing through the material, destroying its entire right arm.

"You brat!" The damaged reaper cursed as it stepped back covering itself with its wings while its arm and beam scissors lay limp on the damp ground.

"How's that?!" SD God Gundam cheered while raising a fist to the air. "I managed to damage a High Grade!"

"Don't be cocky—" With a sharp snarl, the Deathscythe Hell EW launched its hyper jammers at the rejoicing SD, hoping to take it out through sheer momentum.

"Waaahhh!"

"Kid—!" Kanade tries to get in front of the kid in order to shield his model from the blast but the Guntank's damaged threads makes movement extremely difficult. Fortunately for them—

 _BAM! BAM!_

Two more solid shots of a larger caliber intercepted the projectiles and detonated them; the shock causing Kanade and SD God Gundam toppling over a little.

" _Those are huge rounds! They couldn't have come from an SD!"_ Kanade thought as she tried to re-orient her unit. _"Another one?"_

"Hmm…Impressive. To think kids like you are quite capable of holding off troublemakers like these with just SDs…"

A deeper male voice resounded from above, causing everyone in the rather compressed space to glance up to see whom it was coming from.

A black and gold Sinanju slowly descended from the massive crack in the ceiling. It was expertly built and painted, indicating high parameters all across the board. As for modifications, it seemed to have discarded the original backpack in favor of a back unit that allows it to mount two sub-arms used to carry a pair of hyper bazookas.

"That black Sinanju…I've seen it before!" Nagisa gasped as she recognizes the model in question.

"Huh?" Aya wondered, a little unsure as to why this stranger was receiving the looks from her two friends.

"Yeah…There's no mistaking that model." Kanade echoes the statement. "It fought in the 16th World Tournament after all. And won."

"Who the hell are you?" The Deathscythe Hell EW growled at the intruder.

"Nobody. Just a fighter passing through." The black Sinanju gently lands on the ground and stared at the four reapers with an intimidating gaze.

"Quite an entrance for someone just passing through…"

"Indeed." The black Sinanju then turns to the eccentric group of SDs. "Are you kids alright?"

"Sort of." Nagisa replied. "A little low on particles though."

"I see."

"Hey! Don't just ignore us! You're on our turf!" The Deathscythe Hell EW called out.

"Really now? I don't recall anyone ever laying claim to this place." As soon as he said that, the Sinanju's sub-arms shifted, pointing a bazooka at the damaged Deathscythe Hell TV version and firing a couple of fast rounds at the Gunpla, destroying it in a flash. "Much less someone that weak."

"Grr…! You bastard!" Both Deathscythes then got up to charge the Sinanju, with the Katoki version taking the lead. It tried going for a quick vertical slash at the hulking mobile suit but the Sinanju surprises the smaller Gunpla with its agility which it demonstrated by side-stepping and grasping the mobile suit's arms. With much force, it then hurled the Gunpla at its incoming ally, sending both mobile suits crashing loudly on the cavern floor.

"N—not yet—!" Before the two other reapers could rise up however, the Sinanju immediately drew out a beam saber from its wrist and threw it at the Deathscythes like a throwing dagger, impaling both in the cockpit. A couple more shots from its bazooka followed after, reducing the two reapers to a mere pile of plastic scrap.

"So fast—!" Aya gasped as she witnessed all this from the cameras of her Pettit'gguy. She wondered just how good this wandering fighter is.

Only the Deathscythe Hell EW remained out of the reaper group. Nonetheless, it still stood defiant with its beam scissors drawn.

"I suggest you hightail it out of here kid. Your friends have all retired for the night and counting the little one behind me—well, we've already got you outnumbered by a whole lot." The Sinanju proposed though it kept its bazookas trained on the grim reaper.

"Ha! As if!" The last reaper laughed cockily though his Gunpla took a step back. "But this is still my turf. I'll hold on to it until the end."

The Sinanju's fighter let out an audible sigh. "Kids these days…always busy in all the wrong places. Always fighting for the wrong causes…"

"S-shut up! Not everyone's content with being a sellout like you!" The Deathscythe Hell once again fades into the shadow though the voice of its fighter can still be heard echoing through the cavern. _"Yeah, I know you. Trying to act all cool isn't going to take you back on top old man~"_

"Then I guess you misunderstand me then. I'm not trying to act "cool" like you kids." The Sinanju kept calm despite the insult. It didn't even bother moving away from where it stood. Then suddenly, the Sinanju's left hand shot out, managing to grab the materializing beam scissors right in the middle of the shaft, stopping what would have been a horizontal cut, surprising the last reaper.

"I was just doing what I've been paid to do." With the Deathscythe Hell within arm's reach, the Sinanju immediately goes for a strong jab with its right arm, sending the grim reaper Gundam flying towards the group of SDs who immediately moved out of the way.

"H-how…?" Just as the Deathscythe Hell struggled to get up, the Sinanju flew over to its position and stomped on its torso, preventing it from moving. It tried grasping the Sinanju's leg and shoving it away but the shock had damaged the joints too much that it just lacked the strength needed to do so.

"Hoh…" The Sinanju's fighter nonetheless, seemed impressed with how this guy still struggled to fight back despite the odds. "You're a stubborn fighter, I'll give you that." Having said this, the Sinanju immediately kicked the Deathscythe Hell to the wall and shot it with both of its bazookas, reducing it to yet another pile of Gunpla scrap. "I don't like stubborn fighters though. Reminds me too much of cockroaches."

"M-Mister Sinanju…? A-are they gone?" SD Super Gundam approaches the taller Gunpla.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I'm sure of it." Hearing the kid asking him though, the Sinanju's tone suddenly softened and relaxed. "They won't be bothering you for a while, trust me."

"YAAAYYY!" The three kids rejoiced upon hearing this news. "WE BEAT THE REAPERS!"

"As for you girls—" The Sinanju now turns to the older girls in the beat-up Gunplas. "You did well guarding those kids. I'm impressed."

"Well, it'll suck if those kids lost their toys in here." Nagisa finally managed a sigh of relief. "How'd you know we're in here though? Were you following us, Sugiyama-san?"

"You know him?" Aya asked.

"Well, who doesn't know him?! He's the 16th Gunpla Battle World Cup champion, Izun Sugiyama!" Kanade introduces the fighter behind the Sinanju to her new friend with much excitement.

"Really? O-oh in that case, please forgive me—!" Aya's Pettit'gguy suddenly bowed to the majestic black and gold Gunpla.

"S-Seriously…it's no longer a big deal." Izun's Sinanju leans over and raises the Pettit'gguy's head back up. "That was a very long time ago. It doesn't mean anything in this day and age."

"Of course, it does! Saying that is like saying being a valedictorian in high school won't matter much in college—years later, you can still put it on your CV making it look good!" Kanade assures the former champ with much vigor.

"Hahaha! I can't believe I'm receiving a pep talk from kids like you!" Izun's Sinanju then turns to Nagisa. "As for your question, well—I overheard you talking with your bear friend over here about something interesting by the edge so I followed but when I saw you enter the Neutral Zone, I figured my SD Gouf won't be able to cut it. So, I had to change models first."

"I see. We could've used your help sooner though."

"Yeah. But even if you weren't around, I still would have gone in to fight those guys. Like I said, it's a job given to me."

"By Yajima?"

"Nah, just some pissed off wealthy club. They figured if they let Enforcer handle it, those rascals would just walk away with a fine. They wanted to make sure those guys will never bother these servers again. Of course, I don't know how they came to that conclusion but, work is work."

"You won't get any arguments from me."

"Anyway, what're you girls doing out here anyway?" Izun asks. "And you didn't even bother switching to bigger grades for that matter."

"Well, it's really just babysitting mishaps." Kanade then looks at the three SDs they followed. "We kind of just went after these overly excited lads and somehow stumbled in here!"

"Hey, hey Sinanju-san? Have you ever seen what's beyond the next set of caves?" SD Guncannon asked.

"Sadly, I have not. I haven't explored much of these new arenas myself."

"Aww…"

"Do you want to find out together?" Izun offers which made the kids all the more excited.

"Yeah! YEAHHH!" The kids cheered as they immediately ran into the next cave ahead. "No one's going to bother us now that Sinanju-san's here!"

"Kids…" Kanade sighed.

"Tell me about it…" Nagisa just scratched her head. "They've completely forgotten how scared they were when the Reapers arrived."

"Well, they're young. They love to explore." Izun turns back to the girls. "Why don't you come along? You've come all this way—shame to not see it all the way through."

"Sure!"

The odd group pushed on past the jagged passes that dotted much of the path they travelled on. Nagisa's SD Deathscythe Hell has resorted to walking as its particle supply is now rather low and was keeping pace with Izun, Kanade and Aya. On the other hand, the three younger SDs were all excited and were practically running along the paths, amusing themselves with what they can find.

"Sinanju Arms Master is still looking good." In an attempt to break the ice, Nagisa compliments the only High Grade among them.

"Thanks. I've been keeping it well-maintained so it's aged quite nicely." Izun explained.

"Kind of like yourself?"

"Ahahaha! Are you hitting on me, Miss in the Deathscythe—Nagisa-chan, was it?"

"Maybe~"

"You girls are still in high school, right? Appreciate the compliment but, I'm way too old for girls like you."

"Heh~" Nagisa and Izun just chuckled as they continued threading the jagged pathways. Kanade's Guntank immediately storms up to keep pace with them—as best as it could on its damaged tracks.

"What's going on Nagisa? Trying to put the moves on an older man?" Kanade raises a questioning eyebrow at her cousin.

"Of course not! I'm just trying to break the ice." Nagisa sighed. "We've been walking for a while and I'm kind of getting tired seeing this dreary place."

"Yeah you're right." Aya agrees with a sigh. "I'm not sure poor Pettit'gguy's legs can still trudge on." She looks towards the younger kids who were still chatting away merrily as they walked.

"What if beyond this place is a big dragon Gunpla?"

"With lots of gold behind it!"

"And when you beat it, you get the treasure which you can swap for new models?"

"YEAHH!"

"Well, at least they're happy…" Kanade groaned.

"Hang on. I think I see a light." Izun's Sinanju points at what appears to be an exit point leading outside. A dim light was pouring in, further illuminating the path they were walking on.

"This is the edge huh? I wonder what's beyond?" Aya wondered.

"Let's find out."

All seven of them then forged on, past the jagged and dark cavern and out into the unknown territory beyond the field.

* * *

 _Neutral Zone – Frozen Aurora_

"I don't believe it…" Nagisa's jaw nearly dropped to the floor upon seeing what waited ahead of them beyond the crags.

The icy terrain and snow made it apparent that they were probably somewhere further up north, further evidenced by the brilliant display of lights above them, seemingly frozen in time. It looked magical—but the aurora itself wasn't exactly the most eye-catching thing for the kids with them.

Smack in the edge of the cliff just beyond the cavern they crawled out of was the Seravee Gundam from Gundam 00. But it wasn't regularly sized like Izun's Sinanju. It was huge. The quickest way to describe it was that right now, Izun's Sinanju only looked as tall as the pilot that would get into the cockpit of this Mobile Suit as it stood by its side.

"Like a scene straight out of the anime…wow!" Nagisa gasped as she approached the massive Gundam.

"To think no one's bothered to come here before…" Izun mutters as he looked around the place. "There's no sign of anyone having arrived here before us. Of course, it could just be the system at work but—"

Aya's Pettit'gguy then approached the massive Gundam, walking over to where Nagisa is. "This is amazing! I didn't know PLANET had places like this." She smiled as she turns to Nagisa. "Thanks!"

"Why are you thanking me? If anything, those idiots were the ones that got us in here." Nagisa asked, feeling slightly flustered at the girl's words.

"Well we probably wouldn't have lasted long enough to see this if you didn't hold your ground back there." Aya recounts the initial battle with the first Reaper that appeared. "So, thanks!"

"It's nothing. Besides, you seem to have fought well yourself…for a newbie~"

"Hey, I've been practicing!"

"Oh really?"

"You're mean!"

The smaller Gunpla decided to frolic around and have fun for a while as Izun recorded the geographical data of the place to study it. "It seems this place is a safe spot to log out. You should be able to disengage safely from here."

"Really?" Aya asked as her Pettit'gguy walked over to the towering Sinanju.

"Yes. Next time you log in, you'll be back in the Central Hub." The Sinanju looked around the place again. "I guess it's not designed to hold in a lot of data too long."

"Must be how the Reapers were able to get away with what they were doing for so long." Nagisa added in. "They probably search for places like this so that waiting for them where they were last seen does not get them caught."

"Agreed."

"Great. Well, I'm taking the kids back first." Kanade volunteers to go on ahead. "Hey! Come on, let's go home!"

"Aww…can't we stay a bit longer?" The three protested.

"No chance. We're going. Now."

"Aww…bummer."

Going through the motions of logging out, Kanade's SD Guntank soon vanished, followed by SD Guncannon, SD God Gundam and SD Super Gundam.

"Well, my Gunpla's already low. I'll see you tomorrow." Likewise, Nagisa followed shortly after, her SD Deathscythe Hell vanishing from the icy field.

"And then there was just one…" Izun suddenly muttered, catching Aya's attention.

"Yes?" She wondered. "Do you need something Sugiyama-san?"

For a moment, the Sinanju kept quiet. Its Fighter seemed to be thinking of something as it looked at the little bear Gunpla in front.

"No. Just talking to myself. Anyway your friends are gone so—"

"Hmm? Oh right, I need to log off too. That was a very hard battle and my hands are already sore." Aya's Pettit'gguy stretched its stubby paws as she spoke.

"Hahaha! Well, GBWC's a lot harder than what you just experienced. Maybe I'll see you there someday? You seem to be a talented fighter yourself." Izun compliments the young lady.

"I just started out so it might not happen anytime soon. But thanks!" Aya's Gunpla gives Izun's a smile. "Whoops! I gotta go. Bye bye!"

"See you around kid."

With that last wave, Aya's Gunpla vanished like the others, leaving the Sinanju alone in the beautiful, ice-covered field. It trudged on alone to get a closer look at the massive Seravee Gundam left in the landscape.

"Hmm?" Izun suddenly glanced back at the cavern. Something seems to have moved though it was so fast, he couldn't exactly tell if it was real or not.

"I've been staying up late again…" Dismissing the thought, he goes through the motions on his console and logged out, departing from the beautiful, frozen landscape.

* * *

 _Saihara Family Home Server_

Aya had logged out of the Central Hub but she was still in her holo-hub as she still had her headset on. Immediately, she noticed that the club's group chat was active so she decided to drop by for a bit while they were talking.

It was kind of like a video chat where they can see fractions of each other's home servers. At the moment, only Kanade, Hisoka, Tsumugi and Aya herself were online.

"Nagisa's not around?" Aya asked, catching everyone's attention.

"Nah. Probably asleep or something." Kanade replied. Her home server avatar was her decked out in something steampunk inspired while her home server had a turn of the century workshop with various gears, bits and bobs all over the place.

"Misaka and Koga haven't gotten back yet and Kyouhei…well I don't know. He said he'll be out until later." Hisoka added. His avatar was just him in casual attire while his home server was just a simple looking room one can find in most designer homes.

"Oh."

"Anyway, I heard from Kanade. Good job out there!" Hisoka praises Aya for her exploits back in the cavern.

"Thanks~ At least I also managed to take revenge for you too!" She immediately pointed out.

"For Hisoka-san? What are you talking about Aya?" Tsumugi asked. Her avatar was just her in casual too while her home server was decorated like a Victorian Era princess' room.

"Yoite told me Hisoka-san was the first victim of the Reaper attack. So, I beat them up for you! Of course, I'm sure you can beat them yourself too!"

"Actually Aya…" Kanade suddenly looked a little glum.

"Huh? Did we do something wrong?"

"It's not that but—" Hisoka goes on to explain. "Yeah, you got rid of the troublemaker group alright. But it wasn't them that attacked me. Nor were they the ones who attacked Takahashi either."

"What? B-but I thought the Reaper was the one who got Takahashi?"

"Takahashi's model was damaged by beam pistols." Hisoka recalled the state of the model he inspected. "And four months ago, so was mine."

"And those guys never used beam pistols at all. They all came at us with their beam scythes and buster shields. But not pistols." Kanade recalled with a grimace.

"So, what we defeated back there…were fakes?" Aya wondered, feeling a small sense of dread about this realization.

"No…the attacks mentioned on the forums were all done by these dudes no doubt." Hisoka assures her. "But I just wonder if you and Sugiyama-san really did get rid of them all."

* * *

 _Neutral Zone – Frozen Aurora_

Back at the icy fields, sometime around midnight, the same Gunpla that attacked Fuuka's Geminass emerged from the dark caverns having sensed an unusual silence that suddenly fell on this field.

" _Those troublemakers seem to have been taken care of already."_ Its Fighter observed. They had stopped coming to this field for some time when the Reapers' activities were still fresh in people's minds. They remembered the four Deathscythes coming to this field to try and take it from them.

"Heh~ Remind me to thank whoever drove them out for me." The true Reaper's Fighter lets out an audible chuckle as it approached the massive frozen Gundam.

" _Oh? So, you're not collaborating with the four of them? That's actually good news."_

Alerted by the sudden boom of a mechanical sounding voice, the Reaper Gundam took up the polearm on its back as it prepared to meet a Gunpla which was slowly materializing from the top of the frozen Gundam's shoulder.

First was a dark cloak followed by a mechanical body clad in crimson armor. Then a pair of eerie pink eyes upon a dark visor.

"Evening." It introduced itself with its mechanical sounding voice while the Gunpla itself bowed in greeting. "I suppose 'you' are the real Reaper?"

"And you're the Gunpla from the news. Hah! Fancy meeting you here!" The Reaper greets its adversary, its weapon prepared to intercept an attack from this unknown intruder.

* * *

 **Author's No** **te:**

 **Yay, I'm back! Was out finishing my thesis (I passed~) and looking for a job (fruitless T_T) so this had been put on the back burner for some time. Sorry, I'll try to upload a lot faster next time.**

 **Longest chapter I've written so far. Went full on Mystery Dungeon and the black Sinanju reappears! Unfortunately, so did its adversary. Wonder how it'll go~**

 **Anyway, it's a long enough chapter and I don't want to bog it down further with a long note so until then, see you in the next chapter~**


	8. Chapter 7 - The Dragon's Descent

****(Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam franchise. Credits goes to Bandai/Sunrise and their staff for making this wonderful mecha franchise.)****

 **Gundam Build Fighters – Cyber Era**

 **Chapter 7 – The Dragon's Descent**

* * *

 _Suzuran High School – Cafeteria_

"Seriously?" Kousaka listened in attentively as she sat down listening to Kanade's story about the events that transpired within the Neutral Zone the night before.

"Yeah! Those Reaper guys won't be bothering anyone anymore! Me and Aya got rid of them all! Right?" Kanade laughs, patting the newbie on the back for a job well done.

"Last I checked, it was me who held them off long enough." Nagisa sighed before taking a bite out of her lunch. "And you left the part where Sugiyama-san came in and saved our asses."

"Ugh…Can't we take credit for this just this once?"

" _Interesting…"_ Kousaka thought as she watched the girls get into a discussion all by themselves. _"First the Thorn then the Reaper…is this Takamine girl a prime target of something?"_

"What's wrong Rui-san? You've gone quiet all of a sudden." Aya notices Kousaka deep in thought and promptly points this out.

"Huh? Nah, it's nothing. Anyway—I can't believe a rookie like you managed to get away unscathed from such an encounter. I mean, it is four Deathscythes."

"It's not that easy! My Pettit'gguy had a lot of dents and scratches afterwards!"

"Eh…I'm sure fixing it is easy enough for you guys."

 _Creak…_

The swiveling glass doors suddenly opened and Hakuno from Class A walks into the cafeteria, heading straight for the food ticket machines, passing the club's table. Her expression looked tired—like someone who's stayed up all night working on a difficult paper or report.

"Hey Hakuno." Nagisa calls out to her classmate.

"Hey." Hakuno replied, not bothering to turn around as she got her daily lunch from the machine.

"You look like you didn't get any sleep. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She replies as she stood up and finally looked at the group huddled over at the table. "It doesn't seem like you guys got any either."

"Well—not only did we survive the attack of the so called 'Reapers', we managed to beat them back too!" Kanade boasts, letting out her usual cackle along with it.

"With the help of Sugiyama-san of course."

"Like I said, can't we show off just this once?"

"Not like this." Nagisa sighed. "Besides, based from what Hisoka told us, it doesn't seem like we got the right one."

"Oh right." Aya recalled, making a pistol shape with her fingers. "Different weapon."

"Do I know you?" Hakuno asks, having never met Aya before on top of being placed in different sections.

"This is Saihara Aya from B. Also, our newest recruit at the guild." Kanade introduces the new girl.

"Hello!" Aya tries to greet the girl with a handshake but Hakuno just ignores her, deflating her spirit. "That wasn't too friendly."

"Right. I just remembered." Kousaka suddenly piped up. "Do you have something against me?"

"What brought this on?"

"You gave me quite an attitude a couple of days ago." Kousaka's voice lowered a bit. "I didn't like that."

"Sorry. I wasn't having a nice day back then." Hakuno immediately apologized though her tone is as indifferent as ever.

"Hmm…" Suffice to say, Kousaka didn't exactly expect that reaction. "I guess it's fine then."

"So that's it? Then—" Seemingly done with her business, Hakuno turns to leave the lunch room.

"Hey!" Nagisa suddenly calls the girl's attention again. "So, what do you think?"

"About what?" Hakuno pauses to address Nagisa's inquiry.

"The so-called Reaper? This whole assassination business?"

"I thought you got rid of them already."

"For a moment, so did I." Nagisa replied. "But it seems those guys weren't the only one huh? Takahashi-san's Gunpla was damaged differently after all."

"Right. You offered to fix it up for her back then." Hakuno just sighed. She didn't seem exactly pleased.

"Yep. Personally, I think the guys we defeated were just copycats and that there's still someone out there just biding their time and waiting for the right opportunity to strike."

For a moment, Hakuno seemed to be deep in thought, collecting and organizing her ideas before speaking up. "I don't care either way. If you ask me—I don't even think it exists. A real 'Reaper' that is."

With that last word in, Hakuno exits the lunch room, leaving the rest of the girls in awkward silence.

"Who's that?" Aya asks.

"Hakuno Namatame from my class." Nagisa explained. "She's quite talented and smart but—kind of difficult to get along with."

"In other words, she's basically the class bitch." Kousaka added.

"Harsh." Nagisa just shakes her head. "She's not a bad person really. Just stressed out and a bit defensive."

"That's what I said!"

"Does she build Gunpla too?" Aya wondered.

"Back then yeah. Now—" Nagisa trails off a bit.

"Now what?"

"I don't know. I don't think I've seen her build anything recently." Nagisa just sighs as she leans on her chair, staring at the white ceiling above. "She's probably burned out from all those favors the Battle Club asks from her. Which reminds me—" She narrows her gaze at Aya. "Ready for the scrimmage?"

"Well I've added a lot more weapons but, I'm still nervous…" Aya muttered, a little unsure of herself. "It'll be my first formal competition after all."

"You managed to hold up well against those Reaper guys. Relax, it'll be fine. I'll be with you every step of the way." Nagisa assures her. "Both me and Hisoka-san will be with you."

"Competing huh?" Kousaka glances at her watch as she listened in. "Almost time. We should head back soon or else we'll be late."

"Agreed." Nagisa nods as she rises from her seat. "Well, hope we don't fight in Destruction Mode. That's not exactly my strong point."

* * *

 _Suzuran High School – Classroom 2-B_

"Hey Aya-chan! Heard you fought off the Reaper in the Neutral Zone! Good job!" The other new transfer, Tetsuya, greets Aya during a small break in-between their lectures.

"So, you've heard as well? Thanks~" Aya smiled at the fellow transfer as he took an unoccupied seat beside her.

"I heard Takamine-san gossiping about it earlier. Tale sounds a bit embellished coming from her though."

"Yeah well…I think that's just the way Kanade-san is. It was a lot harder than what she made it sound like I'm sure!"

"And it probably did not involve her one-shotting one of them using just an SD!" Tetsuya laughed.

"That's for sure." Aya laughs along with him.

"Hey! I heard that!" Kanade, having heard the two laughing about her, enters the conversation. "What're you doing here shrimp? Hitting on my new friend?"

"No, no. We're just talking about Gunpla stuff. Isn't that right Aya-chan?"

"Somewhat."

"Is that right?" Kanade gives them the suspicious look for a moment but just shrugged it off afterwards. "Well, it's alright I guess. More importantly, battle's tomorrow Aya! I know! Maybe normie shrimp here can watch!" She suggested, looking rather proud of her idea.

"I-I'd appreciate it if you don't call me that…thanks…" Tetsuya chuckled uncomfortably before turning back to Aya. "But that sounds great! You're up against Tsukumo East right? As a substitute for the Battle Club?"

"Y-Yeah…I'm really nervous." Aya just shrugged.

"I'm sure you'll do fine. I may not be able to make it but I'll be sure to cheer you on!" Tetsuya encourages him.

"Won't you be betraying your old classmates by doing so?" Kanade asks, recalling that Tetsuya was a transfer from Tsukumo East.

"Hehehe! Don't worry!" He laughed. "What they don't know can't hurt them."

* * *

 _Suzuran High School – Back Alley_

Dismissal time. Most students were heading to the clubs first with a few actually heading home early due to not being in any of them. Hisoka had gathered the club members for one last meeting regarding the scrimmage tomorrow, leaving Tetsuya alone in the room. With no one to talk to in class, he decides to just head home, unaware of a fiery stranger waiting for him down the route he normally takes.

"Yo!" The strange man greeted. From the looks of it, he was in his early twenties with orange hair and amber eyes. His build was rather intimidating as well. In contrast to the transfer's lanky physique, the man's resembled a thug's and gave off the aura of one as well. Surprisingly though, Tetsuya did not look unnerved. Not one bit.

"Asura-san." He politely greeted the man. "What brings you all the way out here?"

"That annoying broad told me you managed to dig up something? Regarding our "items of interest" that is." The young man called Asura grinned, fiddling with a toothpick lodged in his teeth.

"Right, I did text her during break. Apparently, a bunch of students in my year level got into a fight with the so-called Reaper. Get this: the whole Reaper operation was conducted with four different Gunplas. It's no wonder barely any of the targets stood a chance." Tetsuya explains what he heard from Aya and the others.

"Really? But it wasn't just those guys that got beat up, are they?" Asura raises an eyebrow at the transfer.

"Well—Makinami-san said there may be another one out there. Uses a different technique as well since one of the girls in the Battle Club was attacked recently." Tetsuya explains.

"You did huh?" Asura leans in on the wall while pondering, taking out a cigarette. "They're not wrong you know?"

"Huh" Tetsuya looked shocked upon hearing it.

"Yeah." Asura takes a whiff of the cancer stick and exhales some smoke before continuing. "After all, I did witness it with my own eyes."

* * *

 _Neutral Zone – Frozen Aurora: Day of the Reaper attack_

" _I decided to poke around in the Neutral Zone after hearing that Izun's been looking for clues down that place. There I managed to catch sight of a fierce battle underway in one of those "secret save spots" in the Zone."_

White puffs of smoke rose from the ground as two fierce Gunpla battled on the snow-covered ground near the giant Seravee, engaging each other at close range. One, the Gunpla who attacked Holy Dragon Industries battled another; the Reaper that attacked Fuuka Takahashi's Gunpla.

The so-called Thorn and the Reaper was fighting. Both combatants now moved out of the ravine and into the more jagged formations of ice above. Neither of the two seemed to have the upper hand.

" _I was able to discern what Gundams the two were using. The 'Reaper' was of course, using a Deathscythe with customized armor and beam pistols on top of its beam scythe which they appeared to have modified to be used as a spear of sorts. Our 'Thorn' on the other hand—heh!"_

The Thorn backs up. Its beam spear wielding opponent was a lot more aggressive in their attacks, going in with forceful thrusts and turns, taking advantage of the weapon's superior reach. The Thorn found it difficult to parry with its sword to block and close in at the same time. Fortunately, it seemed to have impressive armor as the stray hits from the beam scythe barely seems to damage the main armor pieces at all aside from a few marks and minor discoloration.

" _Our Thorn was using a customized Gundam Vidar. I could tell from the head and the Burst Saber it was wielding. Judging from how the Reaper barely managed to dent its armor with its main weapon, I suppose Nano-laminate armor capabilities seems to have been replicated perfectly. It was mostly crimson in coloration, with its backpack and shoulder armor modified heavily. Had it not been for the cloak, I would've been able to discern what it carried in place of the dummy reactor."_

The Thorn's customized Vidar then disengages, backing into a large formation of ice as it takes up a guard stance with its burst saber held in both hands. Taking this opening, the Reaper crashes into its opponent who still somehow managed to catch the spear's blow with its sword. The momentum of the two machines caused the ice to break, sending both causing to the other side.

Not a single word was uttered as the two machines immediately got up and started attacking again, trading blow for blow and parry for parry. Neither appears to be in a significant advantage, making the ensuing skirmish appear more like a dance between two skilled warriors than it is a battle fought on the warfront.

Then, an opening. The Reaper had charged in a bit too close, allowing the Thorn's Vidar a moment to use its machine's leg to kick it away, causing minor damage to the Reaper's torso with its Hunter's Edge and sending it upward with great force. Nonetheless, the Reaper's fighter was able to re-orient their Gunpla in mid-air just in time to see the Vidar approached with its sword drawn. Before it can go for a blow however, small explosive chaff was let out along with the activation of the Deathscythe's Active Cloak, directed at the incoming Mobile Suit. The Vidar blocked these by crossing its arms over its visor and torso, allowing its armor to bear the brunt of the attack. Just as the smoke clears though, the Reaper dives in and with a powerful swing, sends the Vidar crashing loudly on the ice below.

" _It was an intense match. Well, I suppose it is when they started exchanging words with each other during the fight."_

" _Really now?"_

" _Yep."_

The Vidar rises to its feet just as the Reaper descends back to the ground; the damage done to it apparently only superficial as it still seems to vibrate with a lot of energy.

" _You managed to damage my Nano-laminate armor."_ The 'Thorn' commends its opponent. _"Compared to your copycats, I'd say your skill in building and battling is a cut above them."_

"Hmm!" The Reaper just grunted as it lowers down its weapon. "At this rate, it'll be sunrise when we finish."

" _Indeed."_

"I don't really mind but what about you? I believe you still have other things to attend to—why not call it a draw today?" The Reaper proposes.

" _A draw? Hmm…"_ For a while, the Thorn seemed to think about it for a moment. Finally, it sheathed its sword back in its holster. _"If possible, I'd like to fight you fairly again in a more proper venture."_

"Thanks. I appreciate the compliment. I'd like that next time as well." The Reaper seemed to nod.

" _And don't worry. I won't expose who you are or anything. Hehe~"_ The Vidar seems to laugh before vanishing, possibly through the use of Mirage Colloid.

"Really now?" The Reaper muttered before leaving, donning the Active Cloak once again. Neither seems to have noticed an eerie-looking blue Gunpla watching them from the shadows.

* * *

 _Suzuran High School – Back Alley (Present)_

"Wow. Can't believe you actually witnessed them and heard them talk." Tetsuya looked legitimately surprised.

"Yeah." Asura nodded, taking another whiff of smoke. "I can't believe it myself."

"Anyway, what next? All we know for now is that the Reaper and the Thorn are different people." Tetsuya reminds him.

"Hell, that's all I was asked to confirm. We can probably forget about the Reaper thing now and focus on our original target."

"That customized Vidar right?"

"Yep." Having finished the cancerous stick, Asura tosses it while staring at the school. "Any Gunpla-related news going in your school? Big events or something?"

"Hmm…well, the Model Kits club will be facing off against Tsukumo East tomorrow. Oh! Makinami-san and Saihara-san will be participating. They were the girls who faced the fake Reapers in the tunnel."

"Oh? The ones Izun met huh? This should be interesting." Asura's grin seemed to widen upon hearing it. "It seems I must pay my old alma mater a small visit then."

"Going back to Tsukumo East? What for?" Tetsuya asked but Asura already started walking away.

"Later kid!"

"Asura-san!" Tetsuya suddenly calls out.

"What now?"

"Just wondering…you heard both the Reaper and the Thorn speak, right? Were you able to get anything else from their conversation?" Tetsuya wondered. "Any clues that can help us unmask either of them?"

"Well…that damn Thorn was using some kind of voice-changing plugin like Izun said so no luck there. The Reaper however…" Asura paused for a bit to light another stick.

"What about the Reaper?"

"Well—not sure what images popped in your mind when you heard about them but all I can tell you is…. when I heard the Reaper speak for the first time—" Asura takes in a puff of smoke and blows it at the sky above.

"Yes?" The white-haired kid implores further.

"That voice I heard…it was a woman."

* * *

 _Castle City – Gunpla Battle Center_

The Gunpla Battle Center is a large building modeled like a smaller version of Yajima Stadium which hosts the prestigious Gunpla Battle World Cup. A dome shaped arena with several battle systems and projectors available to broadcast multiple battles all at the same time.

The Suzuran Model Kits Guild had arrived early, mainly because Nagisa wanted to tour Aya around the place while Hisoka double-checked the Gunpla they'll be using in the battle later.

"Right. Everything looks great. Especially yours Aya-chan." Hisoka complimented after checking everything.

"Really?" Aya asks, feeling a little embarrassed from the sudden compliment.

Aya's customized Red Rider looks rather sharp. It was the same model she used in the shop encounter albeit with added weapons like she had mentioned a day earlier. A full scratch-built rifle was added to its armament list as well as a new 180mm Cannon with what appears to be a bayonet attached. The red Ground Type and Pale Rider hybrid is armed to the teeth.

"It is. Looking good there if I may so myself."

"Heehee, thanks~ Yours look good as well Shirabuki-san!" Aya likewise, returns the compliment, directing it at the Mobile Suit Hisoka opted to bring.

It was a heavily modified Byarlant Custom from Gundam Unicorn. Hisoka had modified his to carry two additional manipulators in addition to the original weapon arms of the Byarlant Custom. The mega particle cannons were retained and improved to be able to fire rapidly or as a sustained beam. Beam Saber holsters were added to its side skirts which are meant to be wielded with the normal manipulators the guild president has added to the build. It was primarily painted in a nice metallic yellow with black and white highlights and custom decals.

"Thanks." Hisoka acknowledges the compliment. "Good luck to us later, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Hey guys?" Nagisa peers into the prep room. "Heard the Tsukumo team's running late."

"That's a first. They're normally early." Hisoka wondered as he stepped outside to look.

"I was planning on taking Aya on a stroll around the venue. You don't mind don't you Hisoka-san?" Nagisa called out.

"Huh? Oh, yeah sure." Hisoka nods and heads back. "I'll just be here guarding our stuff. Keep your phone on though—I'll call you when it starts."

"Sure. Come on Aya!"

"Coming!"

Leaving their leader in the prep room, the two girls started to take a walk around the venue, with the darker haired girl pointing out various things around the place.

"Big events usually reel in lots of crowds and this place is usually quite packed." Nagisa rambles on. "Scrimmages like these are small events so we don't have much of a crowd right now. But—I suppose it works better for you huh?"

"You tell me. I don't know how well I'll be able to concentrate knowing a big crowd's going to be watching." Aya agrees with the statement.

"It's quite easy. Once you get into it, you forget everything but the battle." Nagisa assures her. "I mean, the hub is quite isolated—you can't even hear much of the noise outside unless you step out."

"I see. I haven't been in a lot of battles so I'm not too used to it I guess." Aya pauses for a bit to lean on the railing on the audience stand. "Does Suzuran win against Tsukumo often?"

"Hmm…not sure. We don't exactly keep score. Plus, it's mostly the Battle Club fighting them and you know we don't really deal well with those guys."

"Why though? I mean, I can see the tensions sometimes but—you know? I'm new. I don't know what happened." Aya asked, feeling a little curious.

"Well—it's a long story. A very long story…" Nagisa paused for a moment to collect her thoughts when she sighted a small entourage coming in from the other entrance. "Oh, there's the Tsukumo team. We better get back to Hisoka-san. Wait—" She leaned to get a closer look. "It seems they've recruited a new member on their ranks."

"Really?" Aya wondered, leaning in as well, managing to catch a glimpse of three students in uniform walking in with an orange haired male in jeans and a shirt. There was an older looking man with them as well, possibly a teacher or a coach of sorts.

"Yep." Nagisa turns back to the rookie. "It seems it's not only us who has a wild card in our ranks."

* * *

"I don't recall seeing this guy before." Hisoka stared at the newcomer on the other team. "Have they brought in outside help?"

On the other side, Asura proudly stood, looking down on the three combatants they'll be facing off. "That's your opponent?!" He chuckles. "I can't believe I'll be fighting a bunch of kids."

One of the boys on his side though, looked rather agitated with his right hand balled into a fist. "Yo! You better be grateful. This is pretty much a free win for you guys now!"

"D-damn you!" The boy curses. "You destroyed my Gunpla and now you mock this event we've been planning for two weeks?!"

"Hey, hey! That's what you get for even thinking you can stand on my level!" Asura mocks the boy on his team.

"Well I couldn't just stand there and watch you insult everything we've worked hard on!" The boy cried out. "You just came in and—"

"Adachi-kun…" Another teammate, a more composed-looking girl, looks over the young man sadly before turning to Asura. "I don't agree with you being here but—we need your help right now. Can we just work together at least for today?"

"Heh!" Asura snorts. "Whatever you say kid. Whatever you say."

 _Gunpla Battle, Destruction Mode, Startup!_

"Oh shi—!" Nagisa silently cussed as she heard the selected mode boom from the intercom.

"Right. You mentioned something about not wanting to fight in this mode." Aya recalled, turning to her friend.

"Nagisa…you brought the Dragon Knight didn't you?" Hisoka asked, sounding a little concerned.

"Yep."

"What is this mode anyway?" Aya wonders. "Is it different from a normal Gunpla battle?"

"Yeah." Hisoka nodded as the Plavsky Particles dispersed from the machine, surrounding the combatants in a pale blue hue. "In Destruction Mode, the system will be sending out wave after wave of Gunpla A.I. against both teams. The goal is to destroy as many of these within the allotted time and the team who manages to destroy the highest number of A.I takes the victory."

"Really? Uhh…no offense but, it kind of sounds easy enough."

"Think again." Nagisa continued. "These aren't simple Mocks or Hi-mocks we're talking about here. They're basic mass-produced suits with the parameters of a simple snap-built kit in mass numbers. Then there is the matter of the enemy team of course."

"Nagisa's right. The enemy team can still attack you, delaying your progress. If they were able to take you out, you won't be able to enter for a while allowing the enemy to rack up more kills than you."

"So, it's kind of like an MMO? Dying doesn't mean you're out—it just means you have to wait until you respawn?" Aya tries summarizing the information.

"Exactly. The time it takes before every respawn increases the more often you get shot down as well."

"But that also applies to the enemy team, right?"

Hisoka nods. "In fact, that may just be the key to win here this time. Kanade's not around so we lack firepower but maybe…just maybe—Nagisa, are you up for a challenge?" He asks the dark-haired girl. Nagisa just sighed.

"Well, it's the least I can do to make up for the blunder of bringing the wrong kit." She just shrugged as she stepped up. "Alright. I'll try to delay their advance. You guys just focus on racking up kills."

 _Model Damage Level, set to C!_

 _Please set your GP Base!_

"Alright! Let's do this!" Asura yells loudly from the other side as the Tsukumo team proceeds to set their bases on the scanner.

 _Field 01: Space_

The field loaded up to reveal a massive, empty expanse. Not much debris was littered making it perfect for the scenario they'll be engaging in later.

 _Please set your Gunpla!_

Everyone proceeds to set their prized models, allowing Aya to see Nagisa's model up close.

It was a customized Gundam Gusion from Iron-Blooded Orphans, customized to look a lot more ornate. The green had been repainted with a smooth silver with brass highlights and gunmetal details. The armor had various dragon skull ornaments on the gauntlets, knee guards and shoulder armor. Even the head has been reworked to sport a pair of draconic horns. It wielded a medieval poleaxe and a greatsword hanging on the side.

Clearly, it's not meant for taking on massive number of enemies in such a wide and open field.

 _Battle Start!_

"Let's go!" Nagisa shouts out as her Gunpla launches.

"Byarlant Tyranno, taking off!" Likewise, Hisoka's Gunpla launches as well, looking rather intimidating due to its size and bulk.

"Alright." Seeing her teammates launching, Aya sets her Gunpla on the launch pad as well. "Saihara Aya, Gundam Red Rider, launching!"

The Red Rider launches, readying its cannon as it joins its teammates in the field. Soon, the Gunpla of the other side started to appear on their cameras as well.

"An artillery-type Nobel Gundam, a Hambrabi and…huh?" Hisoka checks out the opposing team and was visibly surprised at the blue Gunpla leading the way.

It was a heavily customized HGFC God Gundam finished in royal blue with silver highlights. The shoulder armor's overhauled to look slightly spikier. Blades were attached to its arms and the manipulators appear to be reinforced in exchange for omitting the God Slashers. A solid katana was also added to its arsenal, stored on the back skirt. The head was changed into one that didn't have the traditional face vents with a different silver v-fin and red cameras. The wings seemed to have retained albeit modified to appear sharper and sleeker.

"Right!" Asura's customized God Gundam cracks its knuckles. "I hope those Gunpla fight better than they look!"

"We're in Destruction Mode Asura-san. We just need to net more kills than they do." The female fighter on their team, the one on the artillery type custom Nobel reminds him.

"Huh?! What's with these stupid new battle modes anyway?" Asura protests. "Battles are supposed to be about good o'l fashion ass-kicking! Not racking up more points than the other guy!"

"It's decided at random during scrimmages. There's nothing we can do."

"Fine!" Asura sighed before turning his attention back on the field. "You just made it a hell lot easier for me!"

"Incoming!"

Multiple signatures now appeared, completely surrounding the six human-controlled Mobile Suits. All around them, multiple GMs and Zakus emerged from the shadows, generated by the computer.

"These are?" Aya wondered upon seeing all the Mobile Suits appearing around them. Her Red Rider flew upwards a little bit just to get a better view of the sudden influx of Gunpla.

"It's the A.I." Hisoka explains as he analyzes the radar revealing their corresponding signatures. "It seems we're on the Zeon side. Aya! Don't destroy the Zakus, the one with the mono-eye or else it'll be deducted from our score. Concentrate on the GMs, the one that looks like a Gundam with no v-fins!"

"Got it!" Having received that, Aya immediately rushes off to engage the enemies.

"Wait, Aya—!"

"HAAAHH!" Aya's Red Rider charges in. Realizing that her accuracy isn't exactly the best, she chose to close in before firing. Just as her Gunpla flew towards a GM though, it immediately dodged, catching the rookie Fighter off-guard. In an instant, two more GMs started to close in on her, both with their beam sabers drawn.

"Don't be too rash!" Seeing this, Hisoka immediately fires a volley of rounds from his Byarlant's particle cannons distracting them, allowing Aya a window of opportunity in order to recover. She managed to lock on one of the GMs with the cannon and blasted it away before catching the other with her custom rifle. Two kills for the Suzuran team.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Hisoka asks, moving towards the red Mobile Suit.

"Y-Yeah. Hehe, I guess I didn't realize they moved faster than the Mocks at practice." Aya laughs nervously.

"Told you." Nagisa laughs before turning to Hisoka. "How's the enemy team?"

"Tough." He replies, turning his attention to the other side. "That newcomer's powerful."

On Tsukumo's side, both the Nobel and the Hambrabi were hard at work, shooting and cutting down incoming Zakus. The pace the two were doing was okay but barely comparable to the dark horse they brought with them.

"Jigen Haoh Ryu…" The visors on Asura's Gundam lit up and the wings were deployed, letting out a ring of blue flame. "GO!" Immediately, the God Gundam charges in, immediately singling out an incoming Zaku equipped heavy artillery equipment and grabbing its head with his palm. "HEAT END!"

A flash of energy surged through the Zaku's frame, immolating it from the inside in a fiery blue explosion. Without another moment to waste, the God Gundam disengages and heads towards another target, preparing one of its fists for an attack.

"RYUSEI RASEN-KEN!" The arm blade dislodges for a moment and spins at high speeds, increasing the power of the attack as the custom God Gundam completely annihilates another target in a split-second.

"HADO REPPAKU-KEN!" A stream of blue flame shoots out from the blue Gundam's palms next, taking out six more Zakus at the same time. Tsukumo East was racking up their kill count fast.

All thanks to a single Gundam.

"Hey uhh…is it just me or is that Gunpla killing our mooks faster than we are killing theirs?" Aya wondered just as she pulls away from five GMs clumping together with their spray guns aimed at her, shooting back at them with her customized rifle while taking cover behind her shield.

"Jigen Haoh Ryu…" Hisoka mutters as his Byarlant disengages from a recent melee kill. "It's the same technique used by the Try Burning in the 13th World Championships!"

"What are we going to do?" Nagisa asked, her Gusion brushing aside another GM with its polearm. "None of us are exactly prepared to fight something like that."

"Tch! What can we do?"

* * *

As the battle below raged on, the small number of students who decided to watch the inter-school match cheered loudly to express their school pride. The venue wasn't packed but the energy of the crowd led to a significantly loud chanting echoing throughout the arena.

" _It's only a scrimmage guys. Seriously…"_ Standing alone by herself completely separated from her classmates, Hakuno watches the battle, leaning on the metal handlebars for support. She was observing the Gunpla on their side, belonging to the club tasked with substituting the Battle Club members should they find them unable to attend the fight.

"Hey…you're Namatame Hakuno-chan right?" A familiar friendly voice calls her attention.

"Arakaki-senpai. What brings you here?" Hakuno asks the older male.

"The scrimmage of course!" Yoite cheerfully replied before taking a spot next to the aloof girl. "My little cousin's fighting down there for the first time. I want to give her all the support I can."

"Cousin?"

"Saihara Aya. The one with the brown hair. Look!" Yoite pointed at the custom Ground Type's Fighter. Aya had just destroyed another GM with a quick shot from her cannon. Immediately, another rose up to challenge her in melee, matching her beam saber attacks blow for blow. "You haven't met her before?"

"I don't believe so." Hakuno coldly replied. "I'm in a different class."

"I see. Hehe…" Yoite softly chuckled at the rather charmless reply. "That makes sense. Yep."

"Well, I did catch her name at lunch but I don't know her personally."

"Really? That's great!" Yoite sighed in relief. "I was wondering if she's having a hard time adjusting. What a relief." He proceeds to pat his underclassman on the back. "You two be nice to each other okay?"

"It's not like we're friends or anything."

"Well, be nice nonetheless. Anyway, I'm more surprised to see you here Namatame-chan." Yoite inquires. "Are you a bit incensed that you're not going to see your builds in action?"

Hakuno groans. "No point in sweating my ass off building shit if Fuuka and her 'friends' are just going to fight poorly with them."

"Harsh. I don't think Takahashi-chan and the Battle Club are that bad."

"Maybe not." Hakuno tries to calm herself down. She realized she's a lot more tense than normal. Glancing back at the scoreboard, it seems Tsukumo East is still leading, boasting fifteen more kills than their team.

"Well—" Hakuno sighed, turning her attention back on the battle. "They're a lot better than this lot at least."

* * *

Down on the battlefield, the Suzuran team was having a difficult time catching up with Tsukumo's score. Hisoka's Byarlant Tyranno was currently doing the most damage, engaging the enemy GMs at long range using its particle cannons and beam rifles carried by the additional manipulators. Nagisa's progress was a bit slower due to her Gusion Dragon Knight's melee nature but her thick armor at least allows her to tank concentrated gunfire from the GMs.

Neither of them still matched the rate at which Asura is destroying their allied Zakus. The stream of flame it seems to unleash on occasion is more than enough to take out three machines at a time. Coincidentally, both he and Nagisa caught eye of a GM and Zaku entangled in combat with each other, moving in to destroy their respective targets.

"Pathetic! Why build a Mobile Suit that can only specialize in one thing I wonder?" Asura mocks Nagisa as he proceeds to grasp her Gunpla's polearm. Fortunately, his Gundam's 'Heat End' technique was inactive.

"I wonder about that myself, looking at your machine." Nagisa calmly bites back, trying to force her Gunpla to try and retake her main weapon.

"Heh! Do you really think you're in any position to mock my machine girl?" As soon as he says that, he catches an incoming Zaku and blows it up with the aforementioned technique. "Compared to yours, my machine can handle dolls like these easy."

"Heh, point taken. Then—!" Firing a couple of rounds from the Gusion's Buster Anchors, Nagisa manages to distract Asura and back away with her polearm. "I'll just have to take you down!" She yells out as she charges, aiming the massive weapon at the God Gundam's head.

"Great! This is what it should be about!" Blue flames shot out from the God Gundam's back as Asura also charged in. "Then make sure you don't disappoint me kid!"

Asura easily avoids the first swing and moves in for a quick punch to the cockpit. "SEIKEN ZUKI!" He yells out the technique as his fist furiously charged. Nagisa rises upward and deftly stops it with her Gunpla's knee. Raising her polearm, she goes for a downward slash but her blue opponent easily evades the blow.

"Tch! This weapon's no good at this range." Nagisa clicks her tongue as she charges again with a horizontal sweep.

"Heh!" Asura chuckles as he effortlessly flicks it away with his left arm blade.

"It's not going to be easy huh?"

"Hey!" Solid gunfire suddenly rained on the two Gunpla's direction. The artillery type Nobel Gundam was approaching them.

"Beat it girl! I don't need your help!" Asura calls her assistance off.

"Can it Asura-senpai!" The Nobel's fighter swaps out her assault rifles for a pair of bazookas. She fires two shots at the armored Gundam, forcing it to back away. "You've let your guard down. The other team's catching up!"

"Hmph!" Asura glances at the scoreboard. Their team was still in the lead but it has been cut down to just five more kills. Right in the middle of the chaotic field, Hisoka's Byarlant and Aya's Red Rider were furiously shooting down GM after GM, finally making steady progress.

"They're catching up huh?" The God Gundam disengages from the battle to move away. "As much as I'd like to stay and fight, I have a battle to win. See ya kid!"

"Wait!" Nagisa tries following but the artillery Nobel Gundam delays her chase, peppering her with gunfire.

"I'm your opponent!" The girl challenged.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Nagisa growls as she fires more rounds with her Buster Anchors. The artillery type Nobel backs away and shoots down the incoming pellets.

"Don't underestimate me!"

In the meantime, Asura had closed in on Hisoka and Aya's location. Rather than destroying Zakus though, he singles out the Byarlant Tyranno from among the Mobile Suits and charges it, attempting to use Heat End as it closes in. Hisoka notices this and immediately parries with a beam saber.

"Going for the leader huh?" Hisoka asks as his Gunpla pushes back.

"Oh? Didn't know you were leading this miserable bunch." Asura mocks him as he shakes loose of the entangle and goes for a solid kick to the torso, sending the Byarlant reeling back. "Unfortunately, I'm just singling out the weakest link in the group. And that's you, girly-boy!"

"Really now?" Hisoka readjusts his machine and intercepts Asura's next kick with his machine's mechanical grippers. "Sadly, I'm not the type to respond to provocations." With a solid swing, he tosses the blue Gundam aside in order to focus on racking up more kills. Asura manages to re-orient his position in the meantime.

"Hah! I stand corrected then!" Channeling more particles, Asura proceeds to unleash another stream of concentrated fire at their allied A.I. "HADO REPPAKU-KEN!"

In that moment, Tsukumo's lead bumped back up to seven.

* * *

"Agghh! Just when I thought they made good progress too…" Yoite lets out an audible sigh of frustration from the audience stands. "That God Gundam's way too powerful for this match." He wonders as he checks out the custom God Gundam's stats on the public board. "It's been throwing down all these massive attacks. How come it's not out of particles yet?"

"God Gundam Asura. It doesn't exert nearly as much energy as we think." Hakuno explains. "Its attacks are flashy sure but it doesn't nearly use up as much particles as we think. Considering that these A.I are just slightly better than an OOB, it doesn't really need a lot of energy to destroy them."

"So…what you mean to say is…he's holding back?!" Yoite was visibly surprised.

"Well, its fighter did participate during the 16th championships after all. Compared to the opponents he's fought there; the Model Kits Guild is pretty much a walk in the park for him."

"He did! Wait…he does seem familiar…"

"Well, Izun Sugiyama managed to eliminate him during the semi-finals. But the general consensus was that it seemed as if between Asura and the guy whom Izun fought in the final round—Asura's the better fighter." Hakuno recalls the details, turning her attention back to the match—particularly the blue Gundam furiously pursuing Hisoka's Byarlant Tyranno. "It's the same Gunpla. The Gunpla fans have dubbed 'The Azure Dragon'."

"He's that strong?! Wow…" Yoite glances back at Aya who was still hard at work trying to catch up with Tsukumo's lead. "Aya-chan's still new to all this. We can't exactly expect her to win against him right away!"

"Normally, yes. But—" Hakuno sighed as she rubs an eye with her palm, brushing aside a lock of blonde hair. "Times have changed. This isn't a regular battle mode."

"Huh?"

"One and a half minutes left…"

* * *

" _This isn't good enough…"_ Aya thought as she had just finished defeating another GM. She was getting the hang of it but the rate at which she's defeating the enemy A.I. is just too slow compared to the opposing team. Hisoka's Byarlant has a much better chance of catching up to the enemy than she has.

" _Tch! If we want to win this, Shirabuki-san must head back to the field and catch up. But that would mean…"_ Aya glances at the terrifying blue Gunpla. _"I'll have to hold that back!"_

Resolving herself to this, Aya fires a couple cannon shots at the God Gundam, catching its attention. When it turned, she charges her machine at it, peppering it with gunfire from her rifle.

"HAAAHH!" Aya yells as she charges.

"Don't be too cocky!" Asura growls. "You don't stand a chance against me!" Ignoring the Byarlant, Asura charges going in for a punch which landed squarely on Aya's shield which the girl was able to lift in time.

"Hngh!" Aya groans as she felt the shock through her control orbs. Backing off a bit, she swaps her rifle for a beam saber and proceeded to try and engage Asura in melee.

"Finally getting serious huh?!" Seeing this, Asura responds by deploying his arm blades. "Take this!" Just as Asura was about to charge however, Aya throws her shield at him as a makeshift projectile of sorts. "What?"

"HAAHH!" Seeing an opportunity, Aya reappears from above, drawing the second beam saber as well. Asura responds by deploying the second arm blade and blocking the attack. Aya immediately responds with a quick thrust. Asura tries to dodge but the beam saber still managed to graze his right shoulder.

" _This swordplay…"_ Asura observes. In the meantime, Aya charges in again but this time, Asura manages to stop the attack with his arm blade. "Hah! Hahaha! So, you're the kid who fought those copycats huh?!"

"Yeah! And I managed to take them down too!" Aya boasted as she backs away. "Now I'll take you down as well!"

"Fighting words! Well then—!" The God Gundam's wings deployed again as Asura charges. "Let's see how good you really are!"

Red and blue streams of light sped across as the Red Rider and Asura's God Gundam engaged each other in a high-speed melee battle. Trading blow for blow with their blades, sparks flew as the two combatants raced across the vast expanse, taking out any other A.I. units that cross their path. Red Rider suddenly turns and blitzes past the pursuing God Gundam, scratching its armor again.

"You wench…" Asura curses as he sees the small damage register. The God Gundam's palms glowed with blue flame as he prepares to unleash another stream. "I won't let you get away! HADO REPPAKU-KEN!"

The destructive energy stream shot out, scraping against the red Gundam's armor as Aya tries to maneuver away from the flame, taking her eyes off her opponent for a moment. _"Damn! It's all or nothing huh?"_ Aya grits her teeth as she steels herself for an incoming blow. To her surprise though, the blue Gundam emerges from her left side, attempting to strike her down with its arm blade.

"It's over kid." Asura states as his Gunpla dives down for the killing blow.

"Aya!" Nagisa suddenly cuts in. In a flash, the Gusion suddenly reappears, positioning its stout body in-between the two combatants. The blade manages to scratch the armor a little but most of the momentum was bounced off.

"Damn you and your cheap tricks!" Asura cursed as he immediately backs off to recover. "Kikuko is down huh?"

"Credits to her though, she fought well." Nagisa smirks, her Gusion sporting a massive chip on the left shoulder armor and right knee.

"I see. I guess I'll have to finish you off myself!" The God Gundam's palm glows again as Asura activates its signature move. "HEAT E—!"

Just before his palm connected however, a mechanical gripper reached out, stopping his momentum. Seeing this, Asura turns his Gunpla around, coming face to face with Hisoka's Byarlant. It was gripping the God Gundam's arm with one gripper while it held what appears to be the remains of a Hambrabi's torso on the other.

"So, you were saying something about being a weak link?" Hisoka asks in a taunting tone as the Byarlant discards the empty Gunpla remains.

"Cocky brat!" Asura just chuckled. His God Gundam raises its other arm blade in preparation for an attack. "This isn't over yet."

"NO! This match is over!" Hisoka protests as he raises his other free arm, aiming a particle cannon at the God Gundam.

"Tch!" Asura immediately wedges free from the Byarlant's grip in order to avoid the incoming attack.

"Called it!" Seeing the blue Gundam fall for the bluff, Hisoka immediately readjusts his aim, shooting another GM from across the field just as the timer reached zero.

 _Battle Ended!_

* * *

"WOOOOOHHHH!"

Loud cheers erupted from the Suzuran crowd as the particles dispersed, shutting down the field. The Model Kits Guild won by a dangerously close lead of just one kill.

"Battle's finished. Final score is thirty against thirty-one in favor of Suzuran. Suzuran takes the victory!" The overseer announces again, causing the crowd to cheer even louder.

"I'm so glad! That was a very close call there…" Yoite was relieved. His cousin manages to win her first official Gunpla Battle.

"Indeed." In contrast though, Hakuno looks rather indifferent. A little disappointed even.

"Huh? Aren't you happy we won Namatame-chan?"

"I don't really care." Hakuno just sighed as she collects her things. "I'll be going now Arakaki-senpai. Tell your cousin I said congratulations."

"O-Oh, okay. Take care!" Yoite bids his underclassman farewell as she leaves the venue while he runs down to greet Aya and her friends. Before exiting the long corridor, Hakuno paused for a bit to reflect on the battle she just watched. Aya's reflexes, Nagisa's close-range prowess and Hisoka's tactics—she recalled as much of those details as she could.

" _Those three…No, it doesn't seem like it was any of them."_ Hakuno shakes her head before she resumed walking. _"Not at all."_

* * *

"Congratulations Aya-chan!" Tetsuya, who was watching among the crowd, immediately ran over to their preparation room to greet them.

"Thanks Kobayashi-kun~" Aya smiles upon receiving the greeting.

"It was a close call but we managed to pull it off. Still, that Asura guy sure was strong." Hisoka recalls as he gives the Gunpla one last look-over before putting them away.

"What would a GBWC finalist want to do with a small backwoods tournament like this I wonder?" Nagisa thought as she stood by the water fountain.

"We managed to win, right? Against a powerful opponent nonetheless." Aya tries uplifting the mood up a bit.

"Only because destroying the enemy Gunpla wasn't the primary objective." Hisoka explains. "Had we fought in a normal battle mode—would we have stood a chance I wonder?"

"Perhaps." Nagisa replied, taking a sip from her water while glancing at her Gusion Dragon Knight. "Maybe. Not with this Gunpla though."

"What do you mean?" Aya wondered.

"This isn't exactly my best build you know?" Nagisa smiled.

"Really? You have something stronger than this?"

"Yep. As for what it is…" Nagisa winks at her. "I'll leave it to your imagination."

* * *

 _Sage Towers – 24_ _th_ _Floor, Room 2408_

A tall building stood out further up north. It was a rather posh hotel reserved primarily for wealthy tourists wanting to look around the place. Granted, some of the locals do have the means to book a stay here but more often than not, celebrities are the usual occupants of the rooms. People like idols, actors and actresses. One such inhabitant in the room was no exception.

"Ahahahaha! Asura lost to a bunch of students?! Man, how low must you sink for that to happen!" A pink-haired girl laughs as she paces around the luxurious room, clutching a phone in her right. In addition to her dyed hair, she also had light blue and silver highlights, making her appearance all the more unusual. Inside the room, she was dressed in a simple pink shirt and shorts. "Hahaha! Wait until Izun hears about this!"

"To be fair…" The familiar voice of Tetsuya Kobayashi, the Suzuran transfer echoes as he enters the suite. "They weren't fighting in a normal battle mode. Had they been, I have no doubt he could've easily won if he wanted to."

"Tetsuya…what did I say about barging in my room without knocking?" The girl asked as she shot Tetsuya a ferocious gaze.

"I did. And the door was open." He sheepishly explains as he sets down a plastic bag containing takeout on the coffee table. Seeing this, the girl's expression softens up a little.

"You were there weren't you? You watched him go down and burn to ashes?"

"I won't exactly say he was burned down." Tetsuya explains, opening a container of microwaved dinner consisting of rice and spring rolls. "The game was Destruction Mode. So, all the opposing team needed to do was to net more kills than Asura-san. It was close though."

"Hmm…" The girl seems satisfied with the explanation. "Boring. So, find any new leads?"

"Not much. Only that the Reaper and Thorn was sighted again recently and that the real Reaper is apparently, a woman. A couple of my classmates fought against the copycats and emerged victorious. You know? The ones who fought Asura-san?" Tetsuya reports his findings.

"In other words, nothing significant."

"Well, that at least confirms that our Thorn is still in the city somewhere. They wouldn't be able to log in here otherwise."

"I'm a lot more intrigued with this Reaper person. I mean, girl. Yuck!" The pink-haired woman leaps on the bed to resume texting on her phone.

"Why though? What about her?" Tetsuya asked.

"Hey, don't you think we can turn her over to our side?"

"Huh?"

"Think about it." The girl shifts and leans her head on to Tetsuya's shoulders who was sitting nearby. "They spend most of their time patrolling the Neutral Zones, right? Why don't we get her to look for our Thorn instead? That way we wouldn't have to get our hands dirty."

"I don't know." Tetsuya shrugged. "We don't even know who they are."

"Leave that to me." The girl then rose back up, playing with her hair. "I have my own way of securing information."

"You're heading out? Won't the ensuing crowd be too bothersome?"

"Heehee~" The pink haired girl giggled. "Call Izun. Tell him 'Jade' is moving out."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Chapter 7 up! I'll try to pick up the pace a lot more from here on out. I'll also create an entire sheet containing the details of the various custom Gunpla used throughout the entire fic when it's over. (Unless you guys are interested in reading up on it during the end of every chapter?)**

 **Reviews are always appreciated and if ever you find some wonky formatting or incomplete sentences, please let me know immediately. I'll try to fix it as soon as I can.**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoyed this and I'll see you all in the next chapter!**


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